Alexander Bublik and Ben Shelton treated the Rome crowd to a thrilling comeback Saturday at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, where the Kazakhstani-American duo recovered from a set and a double break deficit to reach the quarter-finals.
Bublik and Shelton, both Top 20 singles players in the PIF ATP Rankings, trailed Marcelo Melo and Alexander Zverev 2-6, 0-3 before tallying six consecutive games and turning the match in their favour. Inside a packed Court 2 at the Foro Italico, Bublik and Shelton eventually saw off the Brazilian-German team with a 2-6, 6-3, 10-7 victory after one hour, 20 minutes.
Up next for Bublik and Shelton is sixth seeds Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz or Argentines Francisco Cerundolo and Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
In first-round doubles action Saturday, third seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury survived an opening scare, escaping Madrid champions Sebastian Korda and Jordan Thompson 4-6, 6-2, 10-8. Defending champions Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski also needed a Match Tie-break to advance, overcoming Ariel Behar and Adam Pavlasek 6-3, 3-6, 10-7.
Fifth seeds Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin ousted Americans Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow 6-4, 7-6(1). The Mexican-Frenchman pair will next face Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic, who cruised past Cristian Rodriguez and John-Patrick Smith 6-4, 6-2.
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