Marcus Daniell and his Dutch doubles partner Wesley Koolhof have battled their way into the second round at the China Open ATP 500 tournament in Beijing.
The pair have beaten the Spanish duo of Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez 6-4, 1-6, 10-8 in 1hr19min. The Spaniards won nine more pointsin the match and it's the first time this year Daniell and Koolhof have lost more points but won the match.
The victory over two quality doubles players will come as a relief for the Kiwi/Dutch combination who have had a relatively lean run of results since joining forces after the French Open in June.
They have now won eight and lost 10 matches together with their best result, reaching the semi-finals on clay at an ATP 500 tournament in Hamburg after Wimbledon. Daniell is ranked No 50 and defeat in the opening round would have seen him slip about seven places in the rankings. As it stands he should retain his place in the top 50 this week and any more wins will see his ranking improve.
Daniell and Koolhof are likely to face top seeds Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic who play their first round match tomorrow.
Daniell achieved a career high ranking of 34 after reaching the Australian Open quarter finals in January. But a wrist injury severely impacted on his season and he missed the majority of the clay court swing including the French Open.
Young Kiwi pro Rhett Purcell was also in the winner's circle, making it through to the second round at the ITF US $25,000 tournament in Brisbane. The 22-year-old toppled Australian wildcard Jayden Court 6-4 6-1. Purcell held serve comfortably throughout and broke serve four times. He will face third seed, Japan's Hiroyasu Ehara who has an ATP ranking of 502, in the second round. Meanwhile Oly Sadler has lost his first round match 2-6 6-2 6-2 to American Connor Farren.
Meanwhile Ajeet Rai progressed to the second round at the ITF US15.000 tournament in Hua Hin in Thailand. Rai beat Thailand's Pruchya Isarow 6-2, 2-6, 6-1. Ranked No 636 in the world, Isarow is the highest ranked player Rai has beaten this year. Rai will take on Canadian Kelsey Stevenson in the second round.
