ATP Paris: Krawietz and Pütz fight their way into the quarter-finals

Kevin Krawietz and Tim Pütz won a hard-fought round of 16 match against the American-Croatian pairing of Austin Krajicek and Nikola Mektic 4:6, 7:5, 10:6 at the Masters Tournament in Paris. After a weak start and the loss of the first set, the Germans showed great morale, improved in the second round and finally won the match in a match tie-break.

The world champions fell behind early in the first set when Pütz gave away his first service game and their opponents pulled away to 2:0. Despite some strong moments, the Germans were unable to turn the tide. Krajicek and Mektic acted confidently and secured the set 6:4 after 35 minutes.

An intense duel developed in the second set with several deciding points. Krawietz and Pütz withstood the pressure, fended off break points and finally took advantage of a double fault by Mektic to win the set 7:5. Both showed their nerves of steel and tactical cleverness, especially in the final phase.

The match tie-break was characterized by quick lead changes, but at 7:6 the momentum finally tipped in the German's favour. Mektic lost both serves and Krawietz converted the first match point after around 110 minutes of play.

With the win, Krawietz and Pütz advance to the quarter-finals. There they will face either Adam Pavlasek and Yuki Bhambri or the British pairing of Lloyd Glasspool and Julian Cash.