Indian Wells: Novak Djokovic and Fabio Fognini through to quarter-final
Serbia's Novak Djokovic and Italian Fabio Fognini have reached the BNP Paribas Open doubles quarter-final.
Djokovic and Fognini edged out doubles specialist Rohan Bopanna and Denis Shapovalov in a tight Indian Wells Masters doubles round-of-16 contest 6-4 1-6 10-8.
Bopanna and Shapovalov got the first break of the match when they broke Djokovic and Fognini in the fourth game to take a 3-1 first-set lead.
Bopanna and Shapovalov had two break points for a 5-1 lead but didn't convert as Djokovic and Fognini broke back in the following game to reduce the deficit to 4-3.
Djokovic and Fognini saved three more break points in the eighth game, before they claimed the crucial break of the opener a game later.
However, Bopanna and Shapovalov kept their focus despite missing out on many opportunities in the first set as they broke their opponents twice to open up a dominant 5-0 second-set lead.
Djokovic and Fognini got on the board in the second set when they won the sixth game but Bopanna and Shapovalov then served out to love in the following game to force a decider.
Bopanna and Shapovalov won two points in a row to level the match tie-break at 7-7 but then lost the following two points.
Djokovic and Fognini then blew their first match point but converted their second to seal the win in just over an hour of play.
Djokovic and Fognini converted 2-of-2 of their break point chances and saved 7-of-10 of Bopanna and Shapovalov's break point opportunities.
Djokovic and Fognini will play next against either Henri Kontinen and John Peers or Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau.
Djokovic and Fognini are bidding to have a great doubles debut as they are three wins away from winning a Masters 1000 title.
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2TqW5Rv
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