Melbourne, Australia, 20 January 2022 | Leigh Rogers

Eleven Australians have progressed to the second round in an Australian Open men’s doubles draw for the first time in 19 years.

Max Purcell and Matt Ebden were among six Aussie winners in men’s doubles action today at Melbourne Park, scoring a 7-6(5) 6-3 victory against Israel’s Jonathan Erlich and Swede Andre Goranssen. The US Open 2021 quarterfinalists did not lose serve in the 92-minute first-round win.

John Peers, Australia’s top-ranked man at world No.12, made a winning start to his AO 2022 campaign too. Seeded fifth alongside Slovak Filip Polasek, the recently-crowned Sydney Tennis Classic champions scored a 6-3 7-5 victory against Aussie combination Luke Saville and John-Patrick Smith.

Aussie wildcards Dane Sweeny and Li Tu also advanced, with 16th seeds Andrey Golubev of Kazakhstan and Croatian Franko Skugor retiring midway through the opening set of their first-round match. It counts as a career-first Grand Slam doubles win for 20-year-old Sweeny and 25-year-old Tu.

Australians are also enjoying an impressive run in the women’s doubles competition, with eight players advancing to the second round. This is the most to reach this stage in seven years.

> READ: Local hopes starring in AO 2022 women’s doubles

Australian Open 2022

TODAY’S RESULTS
Men’s doubles, first round
[5] John Peers (AUS)/Filip Polasek (SVK) d Luke Saville (AUS)/John-Patrick Smith (AUS) 6-3 7-5
Matthew Ebden (AUS)/Max Purcell (AUS) d Jonathan Erlich (ISR)/Andre Goranssen (SWE) 7-6(5) 6-3
[WC] Dane Sweeny (AUS)/Li Tu (AUS) d [16] Andrey Golubev (KAZ)/Franko Skugor (CRO) 5-2 ret.
Austin Krajicek (USA)/Sam Querrey (USA) d [WC] Andrew Harris (AUS)/Aleksandar Vukic (AUS) 7-6(2) 7-6(4)
Jonny O’Mara (GBR)/Andrei Vasilevski (BLR) d John Millman (AUS)/Mackenzie McDonald (USA) 6-2 6-2

COMING UP
Men’s doubles, second round
[5] John Peers (AUS)/Filip Polasek (SVK) v [WC] Rinky Hijikata (AUS)/Tristan Schoolkate (AUS)
Matthew Ebden (AUS)/Max Purcell (AUS) v [4] Juan Sebastian Cabal (COL)/Robert Farah (COL)
[WC] Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS)/Nick Kyrgios (AUS) v [1] Nikola Mektic (CRO)/Mate Pavic (CRO)
[WC] Jason Kubler (AUS)/Chris O’Connell (AUS) v [Alt] Nathaniel Lammons (USA)/Jackson Withrow (USA)
[WC] Dane Sweeny (AUS)/Li Tu (AUS) v [WC] Treat Huey (PHL)/Christopher Rungkat (IDN)

> VIEW: Australian Open 2022 men’s doubles draw

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