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Bryan Twins, Mirnyi-Nestor Off To Strong Starts; Dlouhy-Hanley Falter

Melbourne, Australia

Paul Hanley and Lukas Dlouhy© Getty ImagesPaul Hanley and Lukas Dlouhy had opened the season with back-to-back titles.

Two-time defending champions Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, looking to win their fifth Australian Open title, hit 16 winners past fellow Americans Scott Lipsky and Rajeev Ram in a 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 first-round victory on Wednesday. The World No. 1 team improved to a 41-7 record at the first Grand Slam championship of the year after winning 29 of 35 service points and converting two of six break point opportunities.

Second seeds Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor won 16 of 19 points on serve to defeat Australians James Duckworth and Benjamin Mitchell 6-3, 6-3 in 57 minutes on their Australian Open team debut. The duo converted three of 10 break point opportunities.

DEUCE Magazine: Mirnyi - Against All Odds

Seventh seeds Lukas Dlouhy and Paul Hanley came into the Australian Open as the team to watch after opening their partnership with consecutive titles at Brisbane and Sydney, but stumbled in their team’s first appearance at a major, losing to Spaniards David Marrero and Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo 6-4, 1-6, 6-1. Dlouhy and Hanley had won eight straight matches since teaming up in the first week of the 2011 ATP World Tour season.

Eighth seeds Michael Llodra and Nenad Zimonjic gelled in their team’s first outing, defeating Kevin Anderson and Victor Hanescu 6-3, 6-4. Llodra and Zimonjic, both past Grand Slam doubles champions, made their only previous tour-level appearance together in 2003, resulting in a first-round exit in Miami.

Wimbledon champions Jurgen Melzer and Philipp Petzschner, the No. 6 seeds, needed 68 minutes to post a 7-6(3), 6-1 win over Brian Dabul and Santiago Giraldo in their first-round match. They reached the third round last year in Melbourne on their team’s Grand Slam debut (l. to Bryan-Bryan).

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Related Topics:

Australian Open, Melbourne, Doubles


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