Top seeds Santiago Gonzalez and Andres Molteni completed a dream week at the Astana Open on Sunday as they cruised past Andrei Vasilevski and Jonathan Erlich 6-1, 6-2 to capture their first tour-level title as a team.
The Mexican-Argentine tandem have now won their past eight matches at all levels, after also triumphing last week in Szczecin at an ATP Challenger Tour event. They first teamed at the US Open last month where they reached the third round.
“We started very well,” Gonzalez said. “We played well on return, so we had many opportunities to break them, and it was good for us to have this early break in the first set. Then all the nerves from playing in the final we [were able to] control better.”
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In a dominant display against Vasilevski and Erlich, Gonzalez and Molteni won 87 per cent (20/23) of their first-serve points and did not face a break point to secure their victory after 61 minutes.
“We played at the US Open where we reached the third round,” Molteni added. “Then in Szczecin, we won the challenger on clay and then this week we won, so we are doing fine and working well. Let’s hope we keep up with this attitude.”
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Gonzalez has now won 16 tour-level doubles titles, having also lifted the trophy in Stuttgart (w/Demoliner) earlier this season. It was Molteni’s first tour-level doubles title since winning in Cordoba in 2019 (w/Jebavy). The 33-year-old has now captured eight trophies at this level.
Vasilevski and Erlich were competing in their eighth tour-level tournament as a team this year and were aiming to win their second ATP Tour crown of the season, after triumphing in Belgrade.