In a thrilling opening-round clash at the Miami Open, Evan King and John Peers produced a stunning comeback to defeat Marcelo Melo and Alexander Zverev in a gripping three-set encounter on Sunday.
After dropping the first set 4-6, King and Peers found themselves on the verge of elimination in the second-set tie-break, trailing 2-5. However, they showed remarkable composure under pressure, reeling off five consecutive points to snatch the set 7-6(5). Riding that momentum, they dominated the match tie-break to seal a 4-6, 7-6(5), 10-4 victory in one hour and 38 minutes.
The duo’s resilience proved decisive, as they saved five of the seven break points they faced, showcasing strong defensive play at key moments.
Despite the doubles setback, Zverev will quickly turn his attention to the singles draw, where he is set to face Marin Čilić in the fourth round.
King and Peers will next take on third seeds Christian Harrison and Neal Skupski. The Australian Open champions looked in commanding form as they comfortably defeated fellow Australians Alex de Minaur and Rinky Hijikata 6-2, 6-3 in under an hour.
Elsewhere, top seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos battled past Francisco Cabral and Lucas Miedler 6-4, 5-7, 10-5 in a closely fought contest. They will next meet French duo Théo Arribagé and Albano Olivetti, who advanced with a straight-sets win.
Fourth seeds Harri Heliövaara and Henry Patten also progressed comfortably, defeating André Göransson and Alex Michelsen 6-3, 6-2. They will now face Santiago González and David Pel, who came through a hard-fought three-set match in their opener.
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