Sometimes even the best-laid serves go awry. Just one point from a first-round doubles win at the US Open, Australian John Peers broke up the typical lull of tennis by hitting his doubles partner, Brazil’s Marcelo Melo, with a bit of friendly fire.
Melo and Peers opened the tournament with a win over James Duckworth and Miomir Kecmanović, 3-6, 7-5, 6-4. Though the pair dropped the first set, they bounced back by holding off Duckworth and Kecmanović in a close second set, and again in the third set.
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That set up a match point, with Melo and Peers holding a 40-0 lead on the service game. Unfortunately, when Peers took the serve, the ball did not clear the net: Instead, it hit the bent-over Melo squarely in the butt. Peers’ racket also went flying, and appeared to just miss his partner.
Melo straightened and took a moment to walk off the contact while Peers collected his racket and the ball. After a few tentative steps and a sip of water, Melo appeared to be fine to continue.
Peers did double fault that serve, postponing their match winner by one point. However, on the next serve, a forehand smash was enough to give the Melo-Peers duo the win.
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Peers and Melo, who are both veteran doubles specialists, have partnered on and off since 2023. The two used to face off against each other fairly often throughout the past decade or so, before deciding to join forces this tournament.
Both Peers and Melo have made it to the US Open final before with different partners; both also made a Grand Slam quarterfinals appearance last season.
By defeating Duckworth and Kecmanović, Peers and Melo will now move on to the second round, where they will face the young American duo of Brandon Carpico and Nikita Samuel Filin.