Alexander Peya and his doubles partner Nikola Mektic were almost eliminated from the ATP finals after two defeats in the group stage. The Croatian-Austrian duo lost against Raven Klaasen and Michael Venus with 6:7 (5) and 6:7 (5).
For both doubles, the second game was about continuing to have the chance to reach the semi-finals in London. Alexander Peya and Nikola Mektic lost their opening match against Robert Farah and Juan Sebastian Cabal, Raven Klaasen and Michael Venus were defeated by Bruno Soares and Jamie Murray in the match tiebreak.
In the second group match, the Austrian’s physical condition was the main reason for the performance at Mektic’s side. Peya travelled to the finals with an elbow injury and had to admit in the first game that he could not rely on his serve.
The 38-year-old’s service worked well against the South African-New Zealand doubles at the start of the match, however, and the serving doubles did not give up. Above all Venus showed his refinement and over-praised Mektic/Peya early in the game with two sensational strokes. The Croatian-Austrian duo showed strong nerves especially at decision points and forced Venus/Klaasen into the tiebreak.
In the short decision first the advantage was on the side of Mektic/Peya who could have outlived the set at the 5:4 stand with their own service. Klaasen/Venus fought back and snatched the first set with 7:5 after 48 minutes playing time.
In the second set, both parties stayed on serve and the fans in London’s O2 Arena had to wait for the first break of the match.
After all, it was Peya who had to serve first. Klaasen and Venus attacked strongly at the returns and put Peya and net player Mektic under pressure. The result was the supposedly pre-decisive break to the 4:3 lead. However, Peya/Mektic fought back immediately and fended off the imminent match loss with a re-break to 5:5.
The second pass should also be decided in the Teibreak – with the again better end for claasen/venus. After 1: hours of playing time, the better doubles turned their third match point into a match win and can continue to dream of the semi-final, for Peya and Mektic the tournament is already almost over before the third group game.