Agencies
Melbourne, March 5: Bob and Mike Bryan spoiled Lleyton Hewitt’s Davis Cup comeback by closing out a tense 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3 doubles win that put the United States 2-1 ahead in their first round tie here Saturday.
Hewitt, who retired six weeks ago at the Australian Open, replaced Sam Groth as John Peers’s doubles partner and dragged Australia back from two sets down with an inspired returning game on the temporary grass court at Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club.
But the Bryans silenced the home crowd by breaking Peers’s serve in the second game of the final set and the veteran Americans then served brilliantly to deny the hosts another breakpoint.
Serving to stay in the match at 2-5 down, the Australians saved two match points on Hewitt’s serve but conceded in the next game when Bob Bryan served to 40-0 and his brother smashed the winning volley.
Elsewhere Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray sprinted through their Davis Cup openers to edge Serbia and defending champions Great Britain closer to a dream quarterfinal showdown.
But their teams are still facing a weekend long battle to set-up that July duel after Kazakhstan and Japan fought back to level their respective ties Friday.
World No. 1 Djokovic showed no signs of the eye infection which brought his run of 17 successive finals to an end in Dubai last week as he brushed past Kazakhstan’s Aleksandr Nedovyesov 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 in Belgrade. The Serb however, needed treatment on his shoulder during the tie.
“The shoulder is nothing and the eye infection is behind me so I am looking forward to playing the doubles,” said Djokovic.
However, Mikhail Kukushkin, World No. 79, stunned 23rd-ranked Viktor Troicki 7-5, 6-2, 6-4 to level the tie at 1-1 as Kazakhstan kept alive their hopes of a fourth successive quarterfinal appearance.
Serbia could face Great Britain in the quarterfinals and Murray did his best to keep that clash on track when he saw off Japan’s World No 87 Taro Daniel 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 in just 90 minutes in Birmingham.
But World No. 6 Kei Nishikori then avenged one of the worst defeats of his career as he defeated Dan Evans 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 (7-3) to bring his country level at 1-1.
Nishikori suffered a miserable straight sets loss to Evans in the pair’s only previous meeting in the US Open first round in 2013.
Murray was playing for the first time since losing to Djokovic in last month’s Australian Open final, opting instead to spend time with new daughter Sophia, born February 7, and wife Kim Sears.
“The last few weeks have been the best of my life, it’s been really, really special,” he told the BBC.
Meanwhile former US Open champion Marin Cilic gave Croatia a winning start in Liege, seeing off Kimmer Coppejans 7-5, 6-3, 7-5 before David Goffin levelled things for Belgium by seeing off teenager Borna Coric 6-3, 6-2, 2-6, 3-6, 6-3 in a keenly-contested match.