Beck and Sela beat Brown and Wassen at SA Tennis Open
Karol Beck of Slovakia along with his partner Dudi Sela of Israel defeated Dustin Brown of Germany and Rogier Wassen of the Netherlands to progress to the second round of the SA (South African) Tennis Open.
In the doubles main draw match, the much lower ranked team triumphed over their top 50 opponents in straight sets. The match was a major upset for Brown and Wassen, who are ranked 41st in the world.
The win was straight forward, with a final score line of 6-3, 7-5.
The game started off in favour of the lower ranked team. They were dominant throughout, and won the first set playing high quality doubles tennis. They played an excellent serving game, with a good 73 per cent of their first serves landing right. They also
won 77 per cent of the points on which, their first serves were true.
Their opponents won a much better 92 per cent of the points on their first serve, but failed to hit many first serves, which made the 92 per cent a measly 11 points.
The Slovakian and Israeli partnership availed one break point out of the four opportunities they created. Their opponents could have broken 3 times, but good play on serve by the winners ensured that didn’t happen.
The second set was the more exciting of the two by far, with each team achieving breaks. Beck and Sela broke twice, while Brown and Wassen managed a break between them. They kept close on each other’s heels though, as the set went back and forth.
The winning pairing won 23 points on their own serve, compared to 20 points by their opponents. They were also dominating on the return game, winning 14 points to their opponents’ 12.
The set remained level until 5-5, at which point the winning duo managed their third break of the match. This enabled them to serve out the set and with it the match.
An upset is always good news for tennis fans, as exciting new players get the chance to play some wonderful tennis. It is hoped that this shall be the case with Beck and Sela too, as they await their opponents in the next round.
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