Blake/Querrey down Huey/Inglot to capture title – US Men’s Clay Court Championship 2012
Unseeded American duo of James Blake and Sam Querrey won their maiden doubles title as a team, when they outplayed Treat Conrad Huey and Dominic Inglot in straight sets 7-6(14), 6-4 in the final at the US Men’s Clay Court Championship
in Houston on Saturday.
Blake/Querrey and Huey/Inglot broke each other once in the opener, squaring off the score at 6-6 and taking it to a tie-breaker. Both teams fought fiercely and none of them was in a mood to surrender, as they went neck to neck,
levelling the score at 14-14. In the end, Blake and Querrey managed to bag two successive points, sealing it 7-6(14).
The American combination neither hit an ace nor committed any double fault. They gave a satisfactory serve performance but excelled with the help of their aggressive returns, capturing 13 of the 22 points on the second replies.
On the other hand, Huey and Inglot were self destructive, as they delivered six horrible double faults.
In the second set, both pairs held their serve in the first eight games, levelling the score at 4-4. Blake and Querrey snatched two in a row after that, closing it 6-4.
The Americans banged in two aces and 73 percent of the first serves, converting 16 of the 19 points on them in the second set.
It took Blake and Querrey an hour and 43 minutes to topple their opponents.
Talking to the reporters after the match, a happy Blake said, “The week was great, as I haven't been in the winners' circle in a while. It's a great feeling to get back in it with a good friend like Sam. I remember when I won my
first doubles title, it was a precursor to my first singles title the next weekend. I think it shows I'm starting to play well and getting confidence.”
Querrey added, “It's always fun to play with a buddy like James. We hadn’t won a match before, but once we got one win, we got four. We had a lot of close matches. Hopefully we can play again and win another title.”
This is Blake’s second doubles title at the US Men’s Clay Court Championship, as he partnered Mardy Fish to grab the crown in 2004. Querrey had finished as a runner-up with John Isner in the last edition of this event.
In the singles event, Juan Monaco of Argentina defeated local favourite, Isner, in three sets 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 to become champion.
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