Mektic/Pavic Make Winning Start At Wimbledon

Ninth seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic continued their standout grass-court season Thursday when they kickstarted their Wimbledon title quest in winning fashion.

The Croatians downed Matwe Middelkoop and Marcelo Demoliner 7-6(5), 6-4 in the opening round, where they did not face a break point throughout the one-hour, 38-minute contest. Mektic and Pavic converted their eighth set point in the opener to gain an advantage on the Dutch-Brazilian team.

The 2021 Wimbledon champions Mektic and Pavic, who were finalists at SW19 last year, have won three titles this season, including at the grass-court ATP Tour events in Stuttgart and Eastbourne. They will next meet home favourites Liam Broady and Jonny O’Mara or Rafael Matos and Francisco Cabral.

In other men's doubles action, Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson defeated John Isner and Jack Sock 7-5, 6-4. The Australian Purcell teamed with countryman Matthew Ebden to win the Wimbledon title a year ago.

16th seeds Marcelo Melo and John Peers also advanced after they rallied past Robin Haase and Philipp Oswald 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4. Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos, who are seeded 15th, survived Robert Farah and Juan Sebastian Cabal 6-7(6), 7-6(2), 7-6(9). The Spanish-Argentine pair fended off a match point on serve at 5-6 in the decider.