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2017 Davis Cup, Australia vs Czech Republic 1st Round, Rubber 3 Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club, Melbourne, VIC Sam Groth/John Peers vs Zdenek Kolar/Radek Stepanek |
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Australia’s doubles combination of Sam Groth and John Peers will be out to finish their Davis Cup tie against the Czech Republic’s Radek Stepanek and Zdenek Kolar, taking an unassailable lead in the doubles. Join The Roar for live scores from 12pm – midday (AEDT).
With Australia’s singles players – Nick Kyrgios and Jordan Thompson both cruising to easy straight sets victories yesterday, it hands Australia a 2-0 lead in the best of five tie.
Simply put, it’s now do or die for the visitors, however the prospects look grim. In what was a left field decision that could have cost them the tie, their top ranked player Radek Stepanek was elected to play doubles rather than singles, and although he can play singles on Sunday, it could be already too late by then.
The pressure on Stepanek and his inexperienced partner Kolar today is out of this world, particularly given neither player has a real strong resume when it comes to doubles and have never played on the same team before.
Stepanek might be a cagey sort of fighter, as he has shown time and time again in singles, but getting better of a team like Peers and Groth, who have done the job for Australia before might be a bridge too far.
Groth and Peers teamed up for the Australian doubles outfit in the 2016 World Group Playoffs and while their opposition didn’t have any doubles resume, they were dominant in a four-set win.
It feels like the Australian team can both hold their own in this match, while for the Czech’s, it feels like Stepanek is going to have to do most of the heavy lifting if they are to get over the line.
Prediction
The Australian team, with Peers one of the best in the world and Groth carrying his big serve and wonderful net game should get it done here and end the tie with two matches still to play.
Australia in straight sets.
Be sure to join The Roar for live scores of this match from 12pm – midday (AEDT) and don’t forget to add your own comments throughout the course of the coverage.
Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde
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