Zhang & Machac rally to advance in men's doubles at Australian Open

Zhang Zhizhen of China and Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic came back from a set down to beat German duo Jakob Schnaitter and Mark Wallner 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 in a second round men's doubles match at the Australian Open in Melbourne, Australia, on Saturday.

There were only three breaks of the serve in the entire match – one in each set.

Zhang and Machac won just three points more than Schnaitter and Wallner across the entire match, in a tight contest that was largely decided on the shorter points.

Among the 103 total points taken by Zhang and Machac, 83 were won in four or fewer shots, including 35 of the 42 points they claimed in the deciding set. Schnaitter and Wallner, on the other hand, won only 19 short points in the deciding set – down from 30 in the opener.

With Machac serving for the match at 5-4, the German pair had two break point opportunities to draw level, but both were saved by volley winners from Zhang.

At deuce, Zhang enjoyed another brilliant moment at the net when he declined to chase a ball that narrowly landed out, setting up a third match point that Machac converted with an ace.

Earlier, Zhang and Machac saved two break points as the Chinese player served for the second set.

An unreturnable wide serve from Zhang brought up set point, which he converted with a forehand winner down the line.

Zhang and Machac will face 15th seeds Hugo Nys of Monaco and Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France in the round of 16.