© Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships 2021
Wesley Koolhof and Lukasz Kubot own a 5-3 record in 2021.
Dodig/Polasek save three match points
Wesley Koolhof and Lukasz Kubot bounced back from a lopsided second set on Monday to book their place in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships quarter-finals.
The third seeds overcame Marcelo Melo and Jean-Julien Rojer 6-4, 0-6, 12-10 to reach their third quarter-final of the season. Koolhof and Kubot, who joined forces at the start of the this year, are aiming to capture their first team title in Dubai.
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Ivan Dodig and Filip Polasek recovered from 3-6, 1-3 down and saved three match points in a 28-point Match Tie-break to beat Marcelo Arevalo and Matwe Middelkoop 3-6, 7-5, 15-13. The fourth seeds, who failed to convert three consecutive match points at 9/6 in the Match Tie-break, were a point from elimination at 9/10, 11/12 and 12/13.
Dodig and Polasek converted their fifth match point to keep alive their hopes of a second title run this year. Last month, the pair claimed their first Grand Slam title as a team at the Australian Open.
Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic did not require a Match Tie-break in their Dubai opener. The second seeds moved past David Goffin and Joran Vliegen 7-6(2), 6-2 in 75 minutes.