New Zealand tennis players Marcus Daniell and Michael Venus have made a strong start to their Olympic campaign with a straight sets win over Belarus in the opening round overnight.
Daniell and Venus took down Belarus players Ilya Ivashka and Egor Gerasimov 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) in their first round match.
Both New Zealanders have been on the professional tour for the best part of a decade but seldom play together.
After a dominant opening set, the pair had to work hard to close out the match with a tiebreaker, but the New Zealanders’ greater consistency under pressure got them home.
Daniell and Venus next meet Dutch pair and eighth seeds Wesley Koolhof and Jean-Julien Roger in the second round.
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