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Brazilian doubles specialist Marcelo Melo didn't hide how happy he was after surviving a tough opener at the Nitto ATP Finals. Melo and his partner Lukasz Kubot recovered from a set down to beat Croatian Ivan Dodig and Filip Polasek of Slovakia 4-6 6-4 10-5 in Group Jonas Bjorkman.
"It feels great [to get the win]. I think we played a very good match today,” Melo said, per the Nitto ATP Finals website. “I think the level was high... We are very happy to play such a great second set and Match Tie-break." Dodig and Polasek lost their serve in the seventh game of the first set but that didn't affect them as they responded with back-to-back breaks to win the opener.
Melo and Kubot found themselves up by a break in the second set as well after claiming a break in the first game of the set but this time they managed to hold on to their serve. Melo and Kubot carried their momentum into the third set as they dropped just five points in the match tie-break to complete a comeback win.
"At this level, one or two points makes the difference in each set," Kubot insisted. "We were hoping to get another chance in the second set and we did have a chance at the beginning. We broke our opponents, focused on our service games and it paid off. We are very happy. The level is very good."
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