Sharan, Sitak move to Auckland quarters with win over top seeds

Divij Sharan and his partner Artem Sitak shocked top seeds John Peers and Michael Venus in two close sets to move to the quarterfinals of the ATP ASB Classic, on Wednesday. The Indo-Kiwi pair edged out the Australian-Kiwi pair 7-6 (4) 7-6(3) in the opening round of the USD 610,010 hard court tournament, the last in the run-up to the Australian Open, season's first Grand Slam. Left-handed Sharan and Sitak next face Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen, who got a walkover from Leonardo Mayer and Joao Sousa. Also moving to the last-eight stage were third seeds Rohan Bopanna from India and Finland's Henri Kontinen, who beat wild card entrants Cameron Norrie and Rhett Purcell 6-4 6-2. They are now up against Luke Bambridge and Ben McLachlan.