Spanish players Rafael Nadal and Pablo Carreño won the China Open doubles, defeating the duo formed by American Jack Sock and Australian Bernard Tomic in the final. In a very close match, the Spanish duo had to go to the tiebreaker of the third set, in a nerve-wracking conclusion, to clinch the title in Beijing. Nadal and Carreño won 6-7(6), 6-2 and 10-8 against Sock and Tomic, after an hour and a half of play and after eliminating the favorites, American brothers Bob and Mike Bryan, in the semifinals.
The match started even, with both pairs moving agility and offering a flashy exchange of shots without a clear dominator. Carreño and Nadal took the lead after a break and consolidated it in their next service game (5-3). Seeing themselves ahead, the Spanish players relaxed and their game declined, missing some easy shots and hitting the net with others, which, along with the few mistakes from Tomic and Sock, caused them to waste their advantage (5-6). The Spanish pair broke out of their slump to force a tiebreaker, but their opponents eventually won the first set.
In the second set, Nadal and Carreño struck first and took the lead in the scoreboard (4-2) after another break, although this time they extended their lead in their next service game and secured the set on return (6-2). Sock and Tomic started strong in the tiebreaker of the third set (3-0), but the Spanish players managed to equalize (4-4) and from there, the advantages alternated until Nadal and Carreño finally closed the victory (10-8).
The stands of the so-called Diamond Court, the main one at the National Tennis Center in Beijing, celebrated Nadal and Carreño's triumph, cheering them on throughout the whole match with multiple Spanish flags. On their way to the doubles title, Nadal and Carreño - both eliminated in the quarterfinals of the singles draw - defeated the third favorites, the pair formed by Indian Rohan Bopanna and Canadian Daniel Nestor, in their debut, the Chinese duo Gong Mao Xin and Zhang Ze in the quarterfinals, and the Bryan twins in the semifinals.
In the women's doubles, the pair formed by American Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Czech Lucie Safarova won the China Open title, defeating the top favorites in the draw, French players Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic, with a double 6-4.
Source: El Mundo