London Push: Kubot/Melo Win Third Vienna Team Title

Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo earned a critical win in the FedEx ATP Battle For London on Sunday, defeating Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski 7-6(5), 7-5 to win the Erste Bank Open title.

"It was a very tight match. We knew it would be. They are such a great team," Melo said. "I think we managed to play as we have been playing since the beginning of the tournament and it was very good. I think the match was decided point-by-point, a couple no-Ads here and there. But I think experiencing all this good energy from Vienna made us get another title."

It is the third time that the veteran Polish-Brazilian duo has won the ATP 500 as a team and it was their 15th tour-level title together. The 500 FedEx ATP Doubles Ranking points they earned could prove pivotal as they try to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the fourth consecutive year as a pair.

"[This is a] very special place for us. It was another very good week here," Kubot said. "We are very happy to end it that way and we are looking forward to going to the Masters [1000] in Paris. We are happy with the result we have done and we'll keep going."

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Kubot and Melo began the week in 11th place in the Battle, but their triumph will better position them to try to earn one of the four remaining qualifying places at the season finale, to be held at The O2 in London from 15-22 November.

The third seeds were broken in their first service game of the match and they failed to serve for the championship at 5-3 in the second set, but they ultimately prevailed after one hour and 55 minutes. In addition to the important 500 points they earned, Kubot and Melo depart Austria with €40,500 to split.

Murray and Skupski, who began the week in ninth place in the Battle, were trying to win their first ATP Tour title together. Skupski won the 2018 Vienna title alongside Joe Salisbury. The Brits earned 300 points and a share of €32,190.

from Tennis - ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/381HrGw