NZ’s Monique Barry & Jade Otway Score Big ASB Classic Doubles Win

New Zealand doubles pair Monique Barry and Jade Otway have made it through their first main draw match of the ASB Classic doubles tournament, with a 6-3, 3-6, 10-4 upset victory over Georgia's Oksana Kalashnikova, and Japan’s Nao Hibino.

Otway, ranked around 726 in the world for doubles, and Barry, just outside the world’s top 300, both played well above what their rankings suggested, taking it to the favorites on ASB Classic’s Court 2.

The first set was all on the rackets of the Kiwis, with aggressive baseline play, and sharp reflexes at the net giving the home crowd something to cheer for early on. However their opponents, who heavily outranked the Kiwis, (with Kalashnikova currently ranked in the world’s top 70, and Hibino ranked at 124,) didn’t roll over, and kept consistent enough to take the second set and force a tiebreak.

However, it was the Kiwis who stepped it up another level in the 10-point tiebreak for the match, rushing out to a 7-1 lead. Barry kept pressure on with her massive left-handed groundstrokes, while Otway remained composed on big points, giving a mature performance despite the pressure.

Eventually they proved too much for their opponents, earning their spot in the quarterfinals.

The pair will face second seeds Xinyu Jiang from China, and Chinese Tapiei’s Fang-Hsien Wu next.

Barry has already had a big win this week, taking out the top qualifying seed in singles, coming agonizingly close to securing a spot in the main draw.