ATP Doubles: John Peers e Michael Venus continue strong year, win third title in 2020

No. 2 seeds John Peers and Michael Venus delivered a good performance in the Antwerp doubles final to beat Indian Rohan Bopanna and Matwe Middelkoop 6-3 6-4 and lift the title at the Belgian ATP 250 event. 

Peers and Venus made a strong start to the match, having claimed two early breaks to take a comfortable 5-1 first set lead.

Bopanna and Middelkoop got one break back in the seventh game but it didn't lead to a big first set comeback as Peers and Venus successfully served out for the opener in the ninth game. 

In the second set, Peers and Venus saved three break points in the fourth game, before they claimed the lone break of the set in the ninth game. 

Peers and Venus win their third team title in 2020 

"It is our first year playing together and to be able to win [our first three finals] straight off the bat is very good and very promising,” Peers said after the final, per the ATP website. “The challenge is to step it up and do it at Masters 1000-level and the Grand Slams. For us to do this in our first year together is very good.”

Peers was satisfied with the way he and Venus performed in the Antwerp final.

"I thought we did really well to come out and play at a good level early. We took our chances from the start and that just put us on the front foot,” Peers added. “We created a couple of good opportunities early in the second set and didn’t take them, but we just stayed focussed and kept asking questions of them to actually lift their level. We played at a good level throughout the whole match.”

Elsewhere, Raven Klaasen and Ben McLachlan stunned No. 3 seeds Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies in the Cologne 2 final 6-2 6-4 to win their maiden team title in their team debut. 

Germany's Krawietz and Mies led 2-1 after the opening three games of the match but then Klaasen and McLachlan claimed back-to-back breaks to win the opener. 

Krawietz and Mies recovered from an early break down in the second set but once again dropped their serve in the ninth game as Klaasen and McLachlan served out for the title in the 10th game.

"It was a fun match to play. I want to thank my partner Ben. It was our first week together, had a lot of fun out here," Klaasen said during the trophy ceremony. "We were very fortunate today for things to go our way. We played probably the hottest team on Tour right now in these guys.”

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3kvhyC3