Kubot and Marach win in doubles

London: Sixth seeded Lukasz Kubot and Oliver Marach handed seventh seeds Max Mirnyi and Andy Ram their first defeat in Group B of the doubles competition with 4-6, 6-4, 16-14 result in the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals on Wednesday.

It was Mirnyi and Ram having the early say with a break in the tenth game to take the first 6-4. But the Polish-Austrian pair came roaring back to take the second set with an identical 6-4 score, thanks to a break in the third game.

In the super tie-break things were evenly poised with neither pair giving away anything to the other. Ultimately, it was Kubot and Marach coming out tops winning 16-14 when Mirnyi netted a backhand return.

The match was important to decide the leader in Group B with both pairs going in with one win each. But Wednesday’s result saw Kubot head the group ahead of Mirnyi and Ram in second, while fourth seeds Lukas Dlouhy and Leander Paes are in third and second seeded Bob and Mike Bryan at the bottom.

In Friday’s final day action, Kubot and Marach will face the Bryans twins, while Dlouhy and Paes will take on Mirnyi and Ram to decide which two pairs advance to the semifinals on Saturday.

Result: Lukasz Kubot/Oliver Marach bt Max Mirnyi/Andy Ram 4-6, 6-4, 16-14.