Bracciali/Cermak upset Qureshi/Rojer in opening round – Swiss Indoors 2012
Italian-Czech duo, Daniele Bracciali and Frantisek Cermak, stunned third seeds, Pakistan’s Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi and Netherlands’ Jean-Julien Rojer, in a three-set thriller at the Swiss Indoors 2012 on Wednesday. They jolted down a 6-4, 6-7(5), 10-6 victory
against their rivals to progress into the quarter-finals at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 500 Series event held in Basel, Switzerland.
The underdogs stayed focused throughout the battle at this indoor hard court tournament. They were underplayed in the tie-breaker of the second set but found their momentum again, ultimately sealing the deal in one hour and 56 minutes. As a result, Bracciali
and Cermak edged in the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head Series by 1-0 against their opponents and inched closer towards their maiden year-to-date title.
The world number 87, Bracciali and Cermak, made a dismal entry at the St. Jakobshalle. They suffered the first blow in the fourth game and went 1-3 down. However, the Italian-Czech tandem quickly counterattacked and recovered in the very next game. They
then held their composure and after getting the breakthrough in the ninth game, Bracciali and Cermak pocketed the opener with a 6-4 score line.
Ranked sixth in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Doubles Rankings, Qureshi and Rojer re-focused their strategy in the following set. They smoothly held their serves until they gifted away their serve in the 11th game and went 5-6 down.
However, the Pakistani-Dutch pair remained focused and not only snatched their break back but prevailed in the tie-breaker, eventually sealing the equaliser with a 7-6(5) win.
The Italian-Czech junction re-gained their early ascendancy in the deciding set. They cruised to a 4-1 lead before carving out the decider with a 10-6 score line.
Bracciali and Cermak showed brilliant co-ordination and co-operation. They spilled more double faults but clobbered a better first serve share of 63 per cent as compared to their rivals’ 57 per cent. The Italian-Czech duo also brilliantly marked 40 out of
52 points on it and superbly warded off eight out of 10 breakpoints they came across.
Next up for the winning tandem is the South African-Serbian duo, Kevin Anderson and Viktor Troicki.
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