Americans John Isner and Jack Sock eliminated the Australians 6-3, 7-6(3) to reach the quarter-finals of the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday evening in front of a raucous Stadium 2 crowd.
“You don’t get often get doubles matches like this in front of a crowd like this, so thank you guys,” Isner told the crowd, eliciting a loud round of cheers.
Isner and Sock saved all seven break points they faced. The 2018 Indian Wells champions are chasing their third ATP Masters 1000 doubles trophy together.
Kokkinakis and Kyrgios are one of the most dynamic teams you will find on the ATP Tour, with plenty of power from the baseline. But Sock’s forehand was the biggest groundstroke on the court and Isner held up well at the net when the Aussies tried to pound passing shots at him.
Kokkinakis and Kyrgios often hit highlight-reel shots to get the crowd on their side, but they never were able to do so on Sunday. Kyrgios at one point hit a tweener, but the Americans won the point.
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Next up for Isner and Sock will be Acapulco champions Feliciano Lopez and Stefanos Tsitsipas, who defeated sixth seeds Tim Puetz and Michael Venus 6-4, 6-3.
In other action, Rohan Bopanna and Denis Shapovalov edged eighth seeds Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares 7-6(4), 6-4 to reach the second round. Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin also won their opener when they eliminated Sander Gille and Matwe Middelkoop 7-6(4), 6-1.
Source Tennis – ATP World Tour
