ATP Marrakech: Jurgen Melzer and Franko Skugor claim title
Austria's Jurgen Melzer and Croatian Franko Skugor have won the 2019 Marrakech doubles title.
Melzer, 37, and 31-year-old Skugor defeated Dutch Matwe Middelkoop and Denmark's Frederik Nielsen in the Marrakech final 6-4 7-6 (6).
Middelkoop and Nielsen broke Melzer and Skugor in the opening game of the match but their lead didn't last long as they got broken back in the fourth game.
Melzer and Skugor blew four consecutive break points in the eighth game but kept their focus as they broke Middelkoop and Nielsen in the 10th game to claim the opener.
Middelkoop and Nielsen failed to convert any of their two break points in the fifth game of the second set but also saved a match point in the 10th to eventually force a tie-break.
The match appeared to be heading for a match tie-break but Middelkoop and Nielsen failed to convert a set point at 6-5 in the second set tie-break as Melzer and Skugor won three points in a row to seal the win.
Melzer and Skugor converted 2-of-9 of their break point chances and also saved 2-of-3 of Middelkoop and Nielsen's break point opportunities in just less than an hour and a half of action.
Melzer and Skugor had a dream team debut as they were playing together for the first time in their careers.
On the other side, Middelkoop and Nielsen fell just short of having a dream debut together as they also debuted as a pair this week on the clay of Marrakech.
Melzer will now be hoping to continue his fine form at the Monte Carlo Masters, where he is set to team up with 2018 French Open runner-up Dominic Thiem.
Melzer and Thiem have been drawn to meet in the Monte Carlo first round rising Canadian stars Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov.
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2Gm7xFP
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