Ben McLachlan partnering Luke Bambridge made their first ATP Tour event together this year powering past Marcus Daniell and Philipp Oswald 7-6(3), 6-3 to win the doubles title at the ASB Classic in Auckland.
“It means a lot to win this tournament. I grew up watching this tournament and was a ball kid here,” said McLachlan, a New Zealand native who represents Japan on the ATP Tour. “To be able to do this in front of my parents, my brother and friends is awesome.”
The British-Japanese duo won 75 per cent of their second-serve points (6/8) to help guide them through a tight opening set. They secured the lone break of the second set at 4-3 before serving out the match after one hour and 23 minutes. The unseeded pair didn’t drop a set throughout the week to secure their first ATP Tour team doubles title.
“I was thrilled, win or lose, that we went out and really attacked it, put our game style out on the court and implemented exactly what we wanted to do in every single match,” said Bambridge. “I think that’s the reason why we got over the line.”
McLachlan also took the doubles title last year in Auckland (w/Struff). This is his fifth tour-level doubles title and the third for Bambridge, who finished runner-up with Santiago Gonzalez last week in Doha (l. to Bopanna/Koolhof).
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