Dodig/Krajicek Notch Basel Upset, Boost Turin Hopes

Can Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek’s impressive late-season form carry them all the way to the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin?

The Croatian-American pair showed no sign of slowing down in its pursuit of a spot at the season finale on Thursday, when it registered a 6-4, 6-3 quarter-final victory against top seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer at the Swiss Indoors Basel.

It was a sixth consecutive tour-level win for Dodig and Krajicek, who lifted their second ATP Tour title of the season on Sunday in Naples. They remain in ninth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings, but Thursday’s 73-minute triumph moved Dodig and Krajicek within 180 points of eighth-placed Tim Puetz and Michael Venus.

With a seventh-place finish required to guarantee qualification for this year’s Nitto ATP Finals, Dodig and Krajicek will seek to boost their chances further when they meet Andrey Golubev and Aleksandr Nedovyesov in the semi-finals in Basel. The Kazakh duo advanced to the last four with a 7-5, 6-3 win against Rafael Matos and David Vega Hernandez.