Australia’s top doubles player John Peers has made a perfect start to his new partnership with Finland’s Henri Kontinen by defending his Brisbane International title in dominant fashion.
Playing his first tournament since parting ways with Jamie Murray, Peers and Kontinen powered past Australian duo Chris Guccione and James Duckworth 7-6 6-1 to claim last night’s final.
“It’s a great step in the right direction for Henri and I to start off the way we did,” said Peers.
“We put in four really solid matches and did really well.
“It’s really promising for us as a team and we’re looking forward to 2016.”
Coming in off just a weeks training together in Perth, the tournaments number two seeds couldn’t have been more impressive.
They needed just over an hour to claim the final and didn’t drop a set all tournament, a perfect preparation for the Australian Open.
“It was a great start for us in our first week together,” said Kontinen.
“There’s always a little question mark how it’s going to start out when we haven’t played any matches before. But right off the bat we felt pretty comfortable on the court and we’re happy with the way we played throughout the week.”
For Melbourne born Peers, it’s his second straight win in Brisbane after taking the title last year with Jamie Murray, and the seventh ATP Doubles win of his career.
Last season the 27 year-old rose to a career ranking of high seven in the world after making the finals of the US Open and Wimbledon, and qualifying for the season ending ATP Finals in London.