Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares have been the most in-form duo of the North American summer and on Thursday, the British-Brazilian pair rode their momentum to a convincing first-round victory at the US Open. The fourth seeds proved too strong in a 6-2, 6-3 result against Guido Pella and Albert Ramos-Vinolas.
Champions at Flushing Meadows in 2016, Murray/Soares have claimed two titles leading in – in Washington, D.C. and Cincinnati – to add to their hard-court title in Acapulco from earlier in the season. Yet to pass a Grand Slam quarter-final in 2018, they next meet Marcus Daniell and Wesley Koolhof in the second round.
The 2018 US Open came within two points of losing its top two seeds in the first round of the men’s doubles on Thursday before Henri Kontinen and John Peers scraped through against Marcelo Arevalo and Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela. The Finnish-Australian duo teetered close to defeat when serving to stay in the match at 5-6, 30-all in the second set before eking out a 5-7, 7-6(2), 7-6(5) victory.
The reigning Nitto ATP Finals doubles champions reached the semi-finals in New York in 2017 in a career-best season, which saw them win their first Grand Slam title together at the Australian Open. In 2018, however, they have struggled for consistency.
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After claiming their second straight Nitto ATP Finals trophy, they carried momentum into their season-opening campaign to claim the Brisbane International. Kontinen/Peers went on to lose nine of their next 12 matches before they bounced back to claim a 12th ATP World Tour Trophy at the Fever-Tree Championships at the Queen’s Club. A third ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title came earlier this month at the Rogers Cup.
Arevalo/Reyes-Varela was a dangerous prospect from the outset. The El Salvadorian/Mexican pairing celebrated their first ATP World Tour title together earlier this month with victory at the Abierto de Tenis Mifel presentado por Cinemex in Los Cabos and had made the final of the Dell Technologies Halle of Fame Open on grass at Newport, Rhode Island two weeks before.
Reyes-Varela had proved a giant killer on the Grand Slam stage already this season. The Mexican teamed with Argentina’s Federico Delbonis at Wimbledon to stun the top seeds Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic in a five-set first round showdown.
Kontinen and Peers will next meet Frenchmen Fabrice Martin and Jeremy Chardy. They are yet to reach the semi-finals of a Grand Slam this season.
Following his first Grand Slam triumph without brother Bob Bryan at Wimbledon last month, Mike Bryan continued his partnership with compatriot Jack Sock on Thursday. The third seeds were ruthless in a 6-1, 6-1 dismissal of Italians Daniele Bracciali and Marco Cecchinato.
Bryan had teamed with Frances Tiafoe and Edouard Roger-Vasselin in his subsequent two events after Wimbledon before rejoining Sock for the Rogers Cup and Western & Southern Open.
Fifth seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah eased into the second round with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Denis Istomin and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan. The Colombians are coming off a runner-up showing in Cincinnati leading in and will next meet Marcelo Demoliner and Santiago Gonzalez.
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