Partnered by America’s Rajeev Ram, Klaasen overcame New Zealand’s Marcus Daniell and Artem Sitak in three sets. The final score in favour of the 13th seeded pair was 6-3 4-6 6-4 out on Court 15.
After the first set breezed by in just 27 seconds the second and third seeds were more of a tussle at 44 and 43 minutes respectively.
Klaasen, currently ranked 21st in the doubles rankings, and Ram were edged 8-5 in the aces division but had one less double fault than their opponents (3-4).
At 72% first service percentage, they just edged the Kiwis, as they did in the first service points won. They hit 11 unforced errors compared to 14 by Daniell and Sitak.
They’ll now come up against the US pairing of Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey in the second round.
Source: African News Agency (ANA)
