South Africa’s Connor Doig teamed up with Bulgaria’s Dimitar Kisimov to defeat the Kazakhstan pairing of Zangar Nurlanuly and Damir Zhalgasbay 7-5, 6-3 in their first-round Australian Open junior doubles match.
It was a noteworthy performance from the unseeded duo of Doig and Kisimov as they dispatched the tournament’s sixth seeds.
‘Played a really good game’
After the match, Connor Doig, 18, broke down the match.
“We were a break down in the first set. I think we were broken at 2-1. We were down the whole set.
“They served for the set 5-4. We played a really good game. We were in every service game in the first set.”
“We played a tough game to break them at 5-4. We then held serve in a close game and broke again to win the first set.
“In the second set we got off to a good start, we kept momentum, and started playing better and better. We started being more comfortable together.
“We broke them early on and held that break all the way to the end of the match.”
Lost his singles opener
Connor Doig was pleased to get through his doubles match after going down in his first-round singles match.
“It was a great feeling to go through.
“I was a bit disappointed about my singles match yesterday as I would really have liked to have won that one.
“The doubles are also really important. It definitely brightened my mood.”
Doig described enjoying playing doubles with Kisimov.
“We played together for almost a month in Italy. We played very well together. We gel nicely.”
Doig outlined what he enjoys about his partner.
“He brings a lot of calmness. He’s really solid. I can trust him. He’s very trustworthy. I know what I am going to get with him.”
‘Good energy’
When asked what he brings to the partnership, Connor Doig liked his on-court presence.
“I bring good energy. That’s my role in the team.”
Doig praised the role his coach Stefan Fortmann plays in helping his performances.
“Stefan brings a sense of calm for me. He sees things from the outside of the court that I cannot see.”
Doig mentioned that he often leans on Fortmann for support during the match.
“I often discuss tactics with him during my matches. Sometimes I ask him for ideas, and sometimes he suggests changes.”
“I want him to let me know what is working and what is not working. Ways on how I can improve.”
‘Risky’
However, Connor Doig revealed that it sometimes is not easy to make changes during a match.
“Sometimes it is a little risky making changes when I am playing. I occasionally find it hard to trust the suggestions that have been made.
“However, I do trust Stefan.”
Next up for Doig and Kisimov is a match against the Australian wildcard pairing of Ethan Domingo and Taiki Takizawa.
UPDATE: Doig and Kisimov managed to beat their Australian opponents 7-5, 7-6 (7/3) in an hour and 23 minutes.
They will now take on American fourth seeds Keaton Hance and Tanishk Konduri in the quarter-finals.
Dave Marshall is reporting exclusively from the 2026 Australian Open in Melbourne for The South African.
