Kiwi tennis ace Michael Venus and his German doubles partner Tim Puetz have produced another stunning upset to reach the final four at the Indian Wells Masters in California.
The unseeded pair backed up their win earlier this week over US Open champions Joe Salisbury and Rajeev Ram, beating fifth seeds Horia Tecau and Levin Krawietz 6-4, 6-2 to book their spot in the semi-finals of the unofficial fifth Grand Slam.
Olympic bronze medallist Venus and Puetz played sublime doubles tennis throughout the match, taking the first set in 40 minutes, with the Kiwi's serve proving the difference in a tight contest.
They started strongly in the second set and broke Tecau for a 2-1 lead before Venus faltered in his next service game.
But some scintillating returning saw the New Zealand/German combination regain the initiative in the next game, breaking Krawietz to love.
They consolidated by holding serve in the next game before breaking Tecau again and leaving Venus to close out the match for a memorable win in 1 hour and 12 minutes.
Venus and Puetz, who have already won one title together this year at the ATP500 tournament in Hamburg after Wimbledon, are quickly developing into a formidable team despite a disruptive season, caused by the Olympics, COVID-19, and Puetz suffering a side strain which forced them out of the US Open in the second round.
They will face either Russian’s Andrey Rublev and Aslan Karatsev or Indian Rohan Bopanna and Canadian Denis Shapovalov for a place in the final.
