By Chris Oddo | Wednesday November 15, 2017
Earning the year-end No.1 ranking has done nothing to satiate the desire of Marcelo Melo and Lukasz Kubot. This year’s Wimbledon champions are making another go of it in London and they became the second doubles team to qualify for the semifinals on Thursday with a convincing 6-4, 6-3 victory over four-time champions Mike and Bob Bryan.
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Kubot and Melo improved to 3-0 lifetime against the all-time leader in ATP doubles titles with a near perfect performance from the service stripe. The Brazilian-Polish pairing did not face a break point and only dropped five points on serve over the course of the 60-minute encounter.
The Bryans did their best to hold their own but Melo and Kubot had all the answers in all the right moments.
“I think we played a very good match today,” said Melo. “To be honest that’s the way you have to play to beat the Bryans. The Bryans are the best players ever and they are dangerous in any conditions and we knew it since the beginning.”
Kubot rifled a backhand return winner to earn a break in the third game of the match and it would prove to be all the team needed. Melo finished the set with an ace down the T to close.
In the second set the decisive blow was struck on deciding point at 3-3, with Melo doing the honors and clocking a crosscourt backhand volley into the open court before busting into celebration.
Kubot and Melo would break again for good measure, with Melo tapping a reaction volley into the open court to clinch.
“We are working hard every day, trying to get better,” said Kubot. “We are very pleased to go on the big stage on the big arena and have fun out there.”
Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares raced past Ivan Dodig and Marcel Granollers, 6-1, 6-1 in the second doubles match on Thursday in London to improve to 1-1 on the week. That means that three teams are still in play for Friday, whild Dodig and Granollers have been eliminated.