By Glenys Furness
- Jamie Murray & Bruno Soares claimed the title in Russia
- Brit/Brazilian were top seeds
- The pair only dropped one set en route
ST PETERSBURG, RUSSIA – Jamie Murray & Bruno Soares were the top seeds at the St Petersburg Open. The Brit/Brazilian took their first title together after time apart.
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Jamie Murray & Bruno Soares split in 2019 looking for new challenges. Murray didn’t fare so well from this decision. At the end of 2020 the pair made the decision to join back together for the doubles circuit. The Brit/Brazilian had made three finals up to this event, but had not won a title.
In the first round in St Petersburg Murray & Soares who were the top seeds, drew Jonathan Erlich & Andrei Vasilevski. The Israeli/Belarussian wildcard pairing were dominated by the seeds in the first set. Erlich & Vasilevski struggled to hold serve. The top seeds soon took the lead. The second set saw Erlich & Vasilveski play better, however, the top seeds secured the break of serve required to take the match 6-1, 6-4.
The quarter-final saw the Brit/Brazilian against John-Patrick Smith & Luke Saville. The Australians took the match to the top seeds. Murray & Soares battled hard and a tiebreak was required in the first set. The top seeds dominated the breaker and took the lead. Smith & Saville regrouped in the second set, breaking the serve of the top seeds and levelled up the match. In the ensuing match tiebreak it was Murray & Soares that edged through to book a spot in the final 7-6(0), 3-6, 10-6.
In the semi-final the Brit/Brazilian were against Marcelo Demoliner & Marcus Daniell. The Brazilian/Kiwi pair stayed with Murray & Soares in the first set. It looked like a tiebreak would be required, however the top seeds secured the break of serve needed and moved ahead. In the second set the top seeds broke Demoliner & Daniell to book a spot in the final 7-5, 6-3.
The final saw Murray & Soares against fourth seeds Andrey Golubev & Hugo Nys. The Brit/Brazilian were looking for their first title back together having previously lost their other three finals. Murray & Soares soon had the break of serve against the fourth seeds to move into the lead. The second set saw the Brit/Brazilian taking the game to Golubev & Nys. Murray & Soares secured the vital break of serve and lifted the title 6-3, 6-4.
Vienna
In the Erste Bank Open in Vienna (anyone else hearing Ultravox right now?) Joe Salisbury and Rajeev Ram were the second seeds. Their first round opponents were Horia Tecau & Lloyd Harris. The Romanian/South African were no match for the Brit/American pairing. Salisbury & Ram got the vital break of serve in the first set to take the lead. Tecau & Harris were unable to hold serve in the second as the Brit/American moved into the quarter-final 6-3, 6-0.
The quarter-final saw the second seeds against Andreas Mies & Felix Auger-Aliassime. The German/Canadian were broken in the first set by the second seeds. Salisbury & Ram took the lead. The second set saw Mies & Auger-Aliassime match the seeds all the way and a tiebreak followed. In the breaker Salisbury & Ram were edged out and the match was level. The final set match tie break saw the seeds take the lead and move into the semi-final 6-3, 6-7(7), 10-6.
In he semi-final the Brit/American were against third seeds Filip Polášek & John Peers. The Slovak/Aussie pair got off to the better start and broke Salisbury & Ram. The second seeds re-grouped in the second set and forced a tiebreak. The Brit/American dominated the breaker to level up the match. In the final match tiebreak it was the second seeds that edged ahead and booked the spot in the final 3-6, 7-6(2), 10-7.
The final saw the second seeds against the fourth seeds Robert Farah & Juan Sebastian Cabal. The Columbians got the break of serve on Salisbury & Ram in the first set to take the lead. In the second, despite the best efforts of the Brit/American Farah & Cabal dominated to lift the title in straight sets 6-4, 6-2
Doubles Round Up
Dom Inglot & Ken Skupski were defeated by John-Patrick Smith & Luke Saville in the first round in St Petersburg 6-4, 7-5.
Dan Evans & Neal Skupski were defeated by Andreas Mies & Felix Auger-Aliassime in the first round in Vienna 6-4, 6-3.
Evan Hoyt with Francisco Cabral were defeated by Joao Sousa & Fredericao Ferreira Silva in the first round in Brest 4-6, 6-1, 10-5.
Liam Broady & Luke Johnson were defeated by Fabien Reboul & Sadio Doumbia in the quarter-final in Brest 4-6, 7-6(7), 10-7.
Jonathan Binding & Stuart Parker were defeated by Viktor Durasovic & Vladyslav Orlov in the first round in Portimao 7-6(1), 6-3.
Arthur Fery & Mark Whitehouse were defeated by Johannes Seeman & Wally Thayne in the semi-final in Calabasas 6-4, 5-7, 10-3.
Ben Jones with Oskar Antinheimo were defeated by Marcel Kamrowski & Dawid Taczala in the first round in Parnu 7-6(4), 7-6(0).
Scott Duncan & George Houghton were defeated by Michal Mikula & Yann Wojcik in the first round in Parnu 3-6, 7-6(5), 11-9.
Ying Hou with Ainius Sabaliauskas were defeated by Remy Bertola & Pietro Schiavetti in the quarter-final in Parnu 6-4, 7-5.
Felix Gill with Lukas Neumayer were defeated by Peter Nagy & Juan Pablo Paz in the semi-final in Antalya 6-3, 6-7(2), 10-8.
Tara Moore with Emina Bektas were defeated by Aliona Blsova Zadoinov & Kamilia Rakhimova in the first round in Cormayeur 7-6(7), 7-6(6).
Sarah Beth Grey with Arianne Hartono were defeated by Audrey Albie & Leolia Jeanjean in the first round in Poitiers 6-3, 6-7(6), 10-8.
Alicia Barnett & Olivia Nicholls were defeated by Samantha Murray Sharan & Mariam Bolkvadze in the semi-final in Poitiers 6-4, 6-0.
Samantha Murray Sharan with Mariam Bolkvadze defeated Audrey Albie & Leolia Jeanjean in the final in Poitiers 7-6(5), 6-0.
Harriet Dart with Conny Perrin were defeated by Choi Ji-Hee & Han Na-Lea in the first round in Tyler 7-5, 2-6, 10-8.
Emily Appleton with Maria Jose Portillo Ramirez were defeated by Rasheeda McAdoo & Chanelle Van Nguyen in the quarter-final in Austin 6-3, 2-6, 11-9.
Emilie Lindh with Eri Shimizu were defeated by Tamari Gagoshidze & Nino Natsvlishvilli in the quarter-final in Sharm-El-Sheikh 0-0 (RET).
Anna Popescu with Chiara Scholl were defeated by Marina Bassols Ribera & Alina Charaeva in the first round in Les Franqueses Del Valles 6-2, 6-2.
Ali Collins with Andrea Gamiz were defeated by Celia Cervino Ruiz & Olga Parres Azcoitia in the first round in Les Franqueses Del Valles 6-3, 2-6, 10-7.
Emily Webley-Smith with Miriam Bianca Bulgaru were defeated by Irina Khromacheva & Arina Rodionova in the first round in Les Franqueses Del Valles 6-0, 6-2.
Eden Silva with Susan Bandecchi were defeated by Irina Khromacheva & Arina Rodionova in the final in Les Franqueses Del Valles 2-6, 6-3, 10-6.
Freya Christie with Akvile Parazinskaite were defeated by Quirine Lemoine & Eva Vedder in the semi-final in Kiryat-Motzkin 6-3, 4-6, 13-11.
Next Week Brits play in Paris, Bergamo, Tenerife, Eckental, Israel, USA, Greece, Spain, Egypt, Tunisia, Linz, France & Estonia.
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