Daniell/Melo Rally Back For Citi Open Semi-final Spot
06-Aug-2021 22:34:00 | ATP World Tour
Marcelo Melo and Marcus Daniell rallied from a set down to oust Alex de Minaur and John Millman 3-6, 6-1 10-8 on Friday, booking a place into the Citi Open semi-finals in their first tournament together.
Melo and Daniell christened their partnership with a hard-fought victory over Matwe Middelkoop and Marcelo Arevalo-Gonzalez in a tight first-round clash. Melo recently posted a quarter-final appearance at Wimbledon (w/ Lukasz Kubot), while Daniell arrived on a high after claiming the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympic (w/ Michael Venus).
The Brazilian and Australian tandem bounced back emphatically after dropping the opening set to de Minaur and Millman, breaking twice to open up a 5-0 lead in the second set. They bossed the Match Tie-break in similar fashion, winning the first five points in a row and maintaining their lead en route to victory.
They will next face fourth seeds Raven Klaasen and Ben McLachlan, who received a walkover from Grigor Dimitrov and Tommy Paul (illness).
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In action later today, #NextGenATP stars Sebastian Korda and Jannik Sinner will team up to face second seeds Michael Venus and Neal Skupski for a place in the semi-finals. The American and Italian are contesting their first doubles tournament as a team, with Sinner seeking his second consecutive doubles title. Last week, he partnered with Reilly Opelka to victory at the Truist Atlanta Open.
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