ATP Tokyo: Novak Djokovic and Filip Krajinovic beaten by No. 4 seeds
Serbia's Novak Djokovic and Filip Krajinovic fought extremely well in their doubles opener at the Japan Open but ultimately fell short to Mate Pavic and Bruno Soares.
Pavic and Soares, seeded at No. 4, came up big in the match tie-break as they claimed a 6-2 4-6 10-4 win in an hour and 17 minutes of play to progress into the Tokyo quarterfinal.
Djokovic and Krajinovic had their chances early on in the first set but Pavic and Soares saved two consecutive break points in the first game and one more break point in the fifth game.
Djokovic and Krajinovic paid the price for not realizing their chances as Pavic and Soares claimed back-to-back breaks to win the opener.
Pavic and Soares appeared to be heading toward a comfortable straight-set win but Djokovic and Krajinovic earned back-to-back breaks and won four games in a row to take a 5-3 second set lead.
Djokovic and Krajinovic held their serve to force a decider, where they led 3-2 before their game fell apart as Pavic and Soares won six points in a row for an 8-3 lead.
The experienced doubles specialists Pavic and Soares then routinely finished the match as they converted their first match point to seal the win.
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2oujOS8
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