Americans William Blumberg and Steve Johnson continued their run on home turf at the Infosys Hall of Fame Open on Friday, scoring a 6-4, 6-4 win against Ramkumar Ramanathan and John-Patrick Smith to advance to the Newport title match.
A single break decided the opening set, with Blumberg/Johnson converting on the only break point of the set. The Americans surrendered an early break advantage in the second but closed out the match by winning its final three games. After their third break of the contest brought up an opportunity to serve for the match at 5-4, the pair won a deciding point to secure its final berth.
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After surviving a Match Tie-break in the opening round, the fourth seeds have now won four consecutive sets on the Rhode Island lawns. They await the winner of Saturday's semi-final, which pits top seeds Raven Klaasen and Marcelo Melo against Americans Robert Galloway and Alex Lawson.
Blumberg, the former North Carolina Tar Heel, is seeking to repeat as the Newport doubles champion. The 24-year-old won the 2021 title alongside Jack Sock for the lone tour-level trophy of his career. Johnson is also seeking his second doubles crown; he paired with Sam Querrey for a Geneva triumph in 2016.
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