Kiwi doubles ace Michael Venus has survived a three-set examination to reach the US Open quarterfinals for the first time in his illustrious career at New York.
Venus and Brit Neal Skupski rallied from a set down to close out Americans Emilio Nava and Tristan Boyer in just over two hours on Stadium 17.
The Kiwi dropped serve early in the opening set to provide their rivals with the break they needed, but the eighth seeds wrestled control back in a second set that produced no service breaks and was decided by tiebreaker.
The eighth seeds needed two hours to win their third-round encounter. (Source: TVNZ)
They broke Boyer in the opening game of the third and squandered three match points on Boyer's serve at 5-3, before finally clinching the victory with an ace on Skupski's next service game.
While Venus, 36, has won a men's doubles crown at the French Open on clay and lost a Wimbledon final on grass, he has not been as successful on hard court. This Flushing Meadow run has now matched his best performance at the Australian Open on the same surface, although he has previously reached two mixed doubles finals at the American Grand Slam.
His current run with Skupski faces a stern test against fourth seeds Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador and Croatian Mate Pavic at the next stage.
The men's double draw breathed a collective sigh of relief when three-time defending champions Rajeev Ram of USA and Brit Joe Salisbury were ousted by 13th-seeded Americans Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow in the third round.
Salisbury briefly teamed with Skupski, before joining Ram for a five-year run that has realised 15 ATP titles, including three US crowns and an Australian Open title. Despite their record of 20 straight wins together at Flushing Meadow, they were seeded only third this year.
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