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E-mail Xinhua, January 17, 2025
China's Zhang Zhizhen and Czech partner Tomas Machac won their men's doubles first-round match at the Australian Open on Thursday.
Zhang and Machac beat Guido Andreozzi of Argentina and France's Theo Arribage 7-5, 6-4 in one hour and 12 minutes at Melbourne Park to reach the second round at a Grand Slam together for the fourth time.
The Chinese-Czech duo, who reached the semifinals at the Australian Open and quarterfinals at the French Open in 2024, got off to a fast start in the match by breaking Arribage's serve in the opening game.
China's Zhang Zhizhen and Czech partner Tomas Machac won their men's doubles first-round match at the Australian Open on Thursday. [photo: xinhua]
After taking the early lead, they never trailed. Leading 5-4 in the opening set, Zhang had a chance to close it out on his serve, but Andreozzi and Arribage reeled off consecutive winners from 30-30 to level the match.
Zhang and Machac replicated that feat from deuce in the following game to break Andreozzi's serve, enabling Machac to win the set on his serve.
The only break of the second set again came on the serve of Andreozzi in the opening game and proved decisive.
Given a second chance to serve out the set, Zhang capitalized, only needing one of three match points to seal the victory.
Also on Thursday, China's Buyunchaokete and Spanish partner Roberto Carballes Baena were beaten in their first-round match by 13th seeds Sander Gille of Belgium and Poland's Jan Zielinski.
Gille and Zielinski were dominant throughout the match, winning 61 total points compared to 34 for Buyunchaokete and Carballes Baena in a 6-1, 6-2 victory in 56 minutes.
