October 13, 2019 – Mate Pavic and Brazilian partner Bruno Soares have won the doubles title at the Shanghai Open after defeating Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo.
Sunday morning was welcomed with great news out of Shanghai, as Split native Mate Pavic and his Brazilian teammate Bruno Soares won their first joint doubles title!
Sportnet.hr reports that in the final match on Sunday, Pavic and Soares defeated the second-seeded Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo 6:4, 6:2 after an hour and ten minutes of play. This is Pavic’s first title in a Masters tournament and 15th overall in the men’s doubles competition.
A first team title for @BrunoSoares82 and Mate Pavic. ?
The eighth seeds beat defending champions Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo 6-4, 6-2 at the @SH_RolexMasters. ?
?: @TennisTVpic.twitter.com/8EApv6H3bK
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 13, 2019
One break in the third game was more than enough for Pavic and Soares to ultimately lock in the first set. Kubot and Melo didn’t have much of a chance – and while they saved three, they failed to save the fourth set point for the first set.
The second set wasn’t too tricky for Pavic and Soares, either. The Croatian-Brazilian duo only had to save one break and took the serve of their opponent twice to reach the final victory and Shanghai Open title.
? Time to celebrate! ?
Congratulations, @BrunoSoares82 & Mate Pavic! ?@SH_RolexMasters | #RolexShMasters pic.twitter.com/BQlBXmUg9G
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 13, 2019
Recall, Pavic and Soares advanced to the final after defeating British pair Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski – 7:5, 6:4.
In a match that saw as many as eight breaks, Pavic and Soares (who achieved six aces and a first-serve percentage of 68 percent) took the serve from their opponents on five occasions. In the final, Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo failed to defend the title of the tournament.
Furthermore, after six consecutive wins (and the title in Beijing), Ivan Dodig and his Slovakian partner Filip Polasek lost the Shanghai quarter-final match to Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo 6:4, 7:6 (2). Kubot and Melo thus got revenge on Dodig and Polasek after losing to them in the Beijing final.
In the first set, Dodig and Polasek lost their serve at 3-3. However, they had the chance to take the match into the third set, but after missing two set points at 6-5 and losing the tie-break, the victory went to Kubot and Melo after an hour and 40 minutes of play.
After Marin Cilic dropped out of the first round of the Shanghai Masters, Borna Coric, too, failed to make it past the first round. Last year’s finalist was stopped by Russian Andrej Rublyov (33rd in the ATP ranking) – 6:4, 7:6 (4).
Donna Vekic failed to reach the quarter-final of the WTA Tournament in Linz, Austria, which boasts a prize fund of €250,000. The Osijek player, who was the fourth seed of the tournament, was defeated by French player Kristina Mladenovic (46th in the WTA ranking) in the second round – 3:6, 6:1, 6:2.
It was their fifth match and the third win for Mladenovic, who tasted revenge against Donna after losing to the Croatian in their two meetings this year – in the 1st round of the Australian Open and the quarter-final of the WTA tournament in Nottingham.
Source: HTS
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