Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic earned a key victory Thursday at the Rolex Shanghai Masters. The duo defeated Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow 6-3, 6-4 to reach the semi-finals and halt the Americans' quest of leapfrogging Koolhof and Mektic for eighth in the PIF ATP Live Doubles Race To Turin.
With only eight qualification spots at the Nitto ATP Finals — and three already occupied — Koolhof and Mektic are boosting their Turin chances with a deep run in Shanghai. Should they reach the final, Koolhof and Mektic will move up one place to seventh.
[ATP APP]Koolhof and Mektic have won three titles in 2024: Auckland, Rotterdam and Indian Wells. They will next meet Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin. The Mexican-French duo beat Ariel Behar and Robert Galloway 6-4, 6-4.
In the top half of the draw, Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni booked their semi-final ticket by overcoming fourth seeds Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori 6-4, 6-4. Eleventh in the PIF ATP Live Doubles Race To Turin, Gonzalez and Molteni next face Adam Pavlasek and Jean-Julien Rojer, who survived wild cards Jamie Murray and John Peers 7-6(2), 4-6, 10-5.
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