Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios made the most of an unexpected appearance in the Ariake Colosseum with a dominant doubles victory on Wednesday night at the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo.
Originally scheduled for Tokyo's second stadium, the Aussies' matchup against Japanese wild cards Yoshihito Nishioka and Kaichi Uchida was moved to the roofed centre stage after persistent rain. The top seeds thrived under the spotlight and did not face a break point as they cruised through, 6-1, 6-2.
The reigning Australian Open and Atlanta champions are seeking their third title of the season as they step up their bid to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals. The pair is currently seventh in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings, with a place in the top eight needed to guarantee a spot in Turin.
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Also fighting for a spot in the year-end event is another Australian duo — the second-seeded team of Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell. This year's Wimbledon titlists opened their Tokyo campaign with a 6-2, 7-6(4) win against Alexei Popyrin and Ramkumar Ramanathan.
Third seeds Rafael Matos and David Vega Hernandez also advanced, courtesy of a 7-6(5), 6-4 decision against Hans Hach Verdugo and Miomir Kecmanovic, while Alex de Minaur and Frances Tiafoe bowed out with a 6-3, 6-1 defeat to Mackenzie McDonald and Marcelo Melo.
Wednesday's lone doubles contest to require a Match Tie-break was the first match on. Americans Brandon Nakashima and Hunter Reese survived with a 4-6, 6-1, 10-2 win against France's Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul.
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