Djokovic's double fault alongside Kyrgios ignites late Brisbane rally for Mektic/Venus
The top seeds won the final four points to squeak past the Serb/Aussie tandem.
Two days after winning their team debut, Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios were in an ideal spot to close out the top seeds at the Brisbane International on New Year’s Day.
But it all came undone near the finish line when the 24-time major winner double-faulted long.
Down late in a match tie-break, Nikola Mektic and Michael Venus reeled off the final four points to survive the second-round tussle, 6-2, 3-6 [10-8].
“I was very happy when I saw that we can play them (at) a 250, on the first of January. It’s just an amazing feeling to start the year like this with such a nice crowd and atmosphere,” reflected Mektic in an on-court interview.
The Croatian and New Zealander had everything going for them early, evidenced by the phenomenal rally the two won over their opponents in the second game that brought the crowd to its feet.
On serve in the second, Kyrgios unloaded on a forehand return against Mektic’s second serve to cinch a deciding point—and more importantly move his side of the court ahead 3-1. Maintaining their advantage, Djokovic and the Canberra native continued to gel, building leads of 6-3, 7-4 and 8-6 in the decider.
Following Djokovic’s double fault, Venus hit his spot on serve to set his partner up for the closing volley in leveling the scoreboard. Kyrgios then netted his return to bring up match point, when Mektic saved one of his best forehand strikes against the Aussie's serve to complete the comeback.
“They hit some unbelievable shots. Down three points in the tiebreaker with how they were serving, it wasn’t looking great. Somehow we got back in there,” reacted Venus.
On Thursday, Djokovic will return to the court for his second-round singles match against Gael Monfils. The 37-year-old looks to make it 20-0 against the Frenchman in their series.