Venus and Puetz reach another ATP doubles final together

Michael Venus and his German partner Tim Puetz are through to the double’s final at the ATP 250 tournament in Stuttgart.

The top seeds have beaten fourth seeds Frenchman Fabrice Martin and German Andreas Mies 6-3 7-6 (9) in an hour and 29 minutes in the semi-finals.

There were two breaks of serve in the opening set with Mies losing his second service game and then at 5-3 Martin was broken.

By contrast the second set was extremely tight with the server’s dominant. It was decided in a tie break that went the distance with Venus and Puetz winning on a third match point after saving a couple of set points on their opponents serve.

It will be a tough final tonight against third seeds Hubert Hurkacz and Mate Pavic. Although they are not regular partners, they are both tremendous doubles players in their own right.

Meanwhile Venus and Puetz will head to Halle after the Stuttgart final for the ATP 500 tournament there. They are the third seeds and have been drawn against Italy’s Simone Bolelli and Dutchman Matwe Middelkoop in the first round.