Middelkoop/Demoliner Power Into Zhuhai Final
Matwe Middelkoop and Marcelo Demoliner have reached plenty of ATP Tour doubles finals this season, but have yet to clinch a title. They’ll have a chance to change that at the Huajin Securities Zhuhai Championships after advancing to another final on Saturday with a 7-6(4), 6-3 win over Goncalo OIiveira/Andrei Vasilevski.
The Dutch-Brazilian pair won 80 per cent of their first-serve points (35/44) to advance in 79 minutes. Middelkoop finished runner-up this year in Doha (w/Haase), Marseille (w/McLachlan) and Marrakech (w/Nielsen), while Demoliner was a finalist in Munich (w/Sharan). Middelkoop/Demoliner will play fourth-seeded Belgians Sander Gille/Joran Vliegen in the championship match.
Nikola Cacic/Dusan Lajovic advanced to the Chengdu Open doubles final with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Americans Taylor Fritz/Nicholas Monroe. Fritz/Monroe won more points in the match (60 to 59), but the Serbians won most of the crucial deciding points on Center Court.
Cacic is through to his first ATP Tour doubles final and Lajovic will compete in his first since prevailing in 2015 Istanbul (w/Albot). They’ll face Jonathan Erlich/Fabrice Martin on Sunday.