Kiwi tennis player Michael Venus and Croatian doubles partner Nikola Mektic are into the quarterfinals of the ATP tournament in Brisbane but only after beating a couple of big names to get threre.
Top seeds Venus and Mektic defeated Serbian star Novak Djokovic and Australianc and Nick Kyrgios three sets.
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The two singles players came within two points of winning but an untimely double fault in the match tie-break proved to be a turning point in favour of Venus and Mektic.
Having rallied from a set down, Djokovic and Kyrgios looked headed for the quarters before the former world No 1 pushed for too much on his second serve at 8/6.
The top seeded combination then reeled off four points to close out the match 6-2 3-6, 10-8 in front of a big and enthusiastic crowd.
“Down three points [4/7] in the match tie-break it wasn’t looking great, but somehow we got back in there and Mekta hit a great return on match point,” said Venus.
They'll play fifth seed Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool, both from Britain in the quarterfinals.
Venus and Mektic play the ASB Classic in Auckland next week.