MELBOURNE – Slovak tennis player Filip Polášek and Australian John Peers failed in the quarterfinal doubles at the Australian Open grand slam. They lost to the third Spanish-Argentinian pair Marcel Granollers, Horacio Zeballos 6: 7 (5), 4: 6. Slovakia thus lost its last iron in Melbourne. Polášek will not defend last year’s doubles title when he triumphed alongside Croatian Ivan Dodig.
The Granollers and Zeballos returned well throughout the quarterfinal match. In the first set at 4: 3, they led 40: 0 when serving their opponents. Polášek and Peers turned away all the breakballs and had a setball in the twelfth geme. However, they did not use it and so the decision was made in the secretary. In it, the Slovak-Australian tandem turned from 2: 4 to 5: 4, but the ending belonged to Granollers and Zeballos.
In the second act, the Spanish-Argentinian pair took the lead 3: 1 after a quick break. Although Polášek and Peers equalized to 3: 3, at the end of the set the Granollers and Zeballos were on top again. In the tenth game, they turned into a third round of swordfish and secured their participation in the semifinals, where the Australian duo Thanasi Kokkinakis, Nick Kyrgios, awaited them.
Polášek and Peers did not follow up on last year’s US Open, where they advanced to the elite quartet at the joint grand slam premiere.
A couple of balls decided
Polášek emphasized that a couple of balls decided Tuesday’s quarter-final loss in Melbourne. “The opponents did better than us and it must be said that they were better today at important moments. They confirmed their qualities and won deservedly. Today’s loss is sorry, but our performance was solid again. If we can repeat the quality we showed during our stay in Australia “Even in other tournaments, it can be a very good season,” said Slovak doubles specialist, who won the ATP tournament in Sydney with Peerson in January.
Men’s Doubles Quarterfinals:
Marcel Granollers, Horacio Zeballos (Sp. / Arg.-3) – Filip POLASEK, John Peers (SR / Austr.-5) 7: 6 (5), 6: 4
Thanasi Kokkinakis, Nick Kyrgios (Austr.) – Tim Pütz, Michael Venus (Nem./N. Zél.-6) 7: 5, 3: 6, 6: 3
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- Source: TASR