Bachinger/Moser beat Bernstein/King in the quarter-finals – Atlanta Tennis Championships 2011
German pair of Matthias Bachinger and Frank Moser stood victorious against the American duo of Drake Bernstein and Kevin King in the quarter-finals of Atlanta Tennis Championships Doubles, being played at Atlanta, the United States, on Friday afternoon.
A brilliant display of doubles tennis was seen from the German team, who wrapped up victory in straight sets 7-6(8), 6-1, to make it into the semi-final of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 tournament.
Bachinger and Moser stringed their individual efforts together with great mastery to overcome the American pair in the contest. They went through a time in the opening set, which they took in the tie breaker round, but cruised through the following set to conclude victory comprehensively in the end.
Bernstein and King made the biggest upset of the tournament, when they defeated the top seeded pair of Scott Lipsky and Rajeev Ram in straight sets in the very first round, but utterly failed to replicate the similar performance with their racquets in the quarter-final matchup. The Americans fought well in the opening set but gradually lost their steam in the later parts of the game.
The opening set took off with aggression from two teams and Bachinger and Moser struck first with a break point in the third game to lead 4-2. The Germans secured 16 first serve points in the opener, while their opponents excelled over them with 19 points in the set. Bernstein and King finally had their chance in the 10th game of the first set to strike a serve break and they rightfully converted it to level the scores at 5-5.
Both teams continued to play aggressively to drag the opener into a tie breaker round, after the scores got stuck at 6-6. The decider also went on neck-to-neck before a mini-break in the last moments of the game closed the first set for Bachinger and Moser at 7-6(8).
The second set was an all-German show, with Bernstein and King going through a terrible slump. Bachinger and Moser collected 11 out of 13 first serve points and registered two consecutive serve breaks to rocket away to victory by sealing the second set at 6-1.
The unseeded German pair will take on the fourth seeded British duo of Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins in the semi-final clash on Saturday, for a place in the final of Atlanta Tennis Championships Doubles. The Britons were successful against the combination of Igor Kunitsyn and Michael Russell in the quarter-finals.
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