Ivan Dodig and Filip Polasek beat Australian wild cards Matthew Ebden and John Patrick Smith 6-4 2-6 6-4 to advance to their second consecutive doubles semifinal at the Australian Open.
Dodig and Polasek hit 26 winners and won 78 % of his first serve points to reach their third Grand Slam semifinal as a team. They are aiming to advance to their second final in 2021 after finishing runner-up at the Antalya Open last January.
The Croatian and Slovakian team set up a semifinal clash against this year’s Antalya champions Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic in a re-match of the Antalya Open final.
Mektic and Pavic, who also won the Murray River Open final in Melbourne in the buid-up to the Australian Open, beat Pierre Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut 6-4 4-6 7-6 (7-3) in a Match Tie-break after 2 hours and 24 minutes.
