Doubles Drama: Barrientos/Behar, Doumbia/Reboul Save MPs In Cordoba

Only three doubles matches were played on Thursday at the Cordoba Open, but there was no shortage of drama, with two thrillers decided in Match Tie-breaks.

Nicolas Barrientos and Ariel Behar earned a 6-7(5), 6-4, 11-9 win against Hugo Dellien and Guido Pella, clawing back from 2/7 in the deciding tie-break and saving a match point at 8/9. The Colombian-Uruguayan pair won the final three points to advance to the quarter-finals, where they will meet top seeds Rafael Matos and David Vega Hernandez.

Barrientos/Behar dropped serve just once in the one-hour, 47-minute contest, when they failed to serve out the opening set at 5-4. They saved five of six break points, including two in the second set.

In quarter-final action, third seeds Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul also staved off a match point in a 6-2, 4-6, 12-10 victory against Spaniards Roberto Carballes Baena and Pedro Martinez. After leading 9/6 in the Match Tie-break, the Frenchmen faced that match point at 9/10 before claiming the win on their fourth opportunity.

Semis Set In Montpellier
Robin Haase and Matwe Middelkoop also saved a match point in their quarter-final win at the Open Sud de France – Montpellier on Thursday. The fourth-seeded Dutchmen defeated the French team of Theo Arribage and Luca Sanchez 3-6, 6-2, 13-11, erasing the match point at 9/10 in the Match Tie-break.

They will face top seeds Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz in Friday’s semi-finals after the Germans downed Frenchmen Manuel Guinard and Fabrice Martin 6-4, 6-4.

Dallas QF Action
Three of the four quarter-finals at the Dallas Open were settled in Match Tie-breaks, with all four of the top seeds in action.

Top seeds Michael Venus and Jamie Murray defeated Miomir Kecmanovic and William Blumberg 6-7(4), 6-4, 10-5 to set up a semi-final meeting with fourth seeds Andre Goransson and Ben McLachlan, who also came from behind to beat Serbian brothers Ivan Sabanov and Matej Sabanov 3-6, 6-3, 10-4.

Indians Yuki Bhambri and Saketh Myneni scored the lone upset of the day with a 2-6, 6-3, 10-8 win against third-seeded Britons Julian Cash and Henry Patten. Their semi-final opponents, second-seeded Americans Jackson Withrow and Nathaniel Lammons, were 6-3, 6-2 winners against Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela and Treat Huey.