Krajicek and Mektic win Tokyo, keep Turin push alive with all tie-breaks

Austin Krajicek and Nikola Mektic claimed their second title of the season on Tuesday at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships, according to www.atptour.com.

The fourth seeds defeated second seeds Theo Arribage and Albano Olivetti 7-6(5), 5-7, 10-6 in the final of the ATP 500 event.

With the Tokyo title run, the pair rose one place to 12th in the PIF ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings with 2,730 points.

They remain 1,000 points behind eighth-placed Guido Andreozzi and Manuel Guinard, with two months of the ATP Tour season still to play.

The margin is tight, but the path to Turin is still open.

PERFECT TIE-BREAKS

The fourth seeds were ruthless when it mattered most in Tokyo, winning all seven tie-breaks they contested across the tournament, including Match Tie-breaks, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

That pressure-proof form was tested early. In their opening match against Petr Nouza and Michael Venus, Krajicek and Mektic saved a match point to escape with a win.

From there, they built momentum, defeating top seeds Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori in the semi-finals to reach the title match.

The final against second seeds Theo Arribage and Albano Olivetti followed the same script. Krajicek and Mektic took the first set in a tie-break, dropped the second, then closed out the Match Tie-break 10-6 to secure the trophy.