Bracciali/Gonzalez dismiss Ferreiro/Sa to claim title – Bet-At-Home Cup 2011
Fourth seeds Daniele Bracciali of Italy and Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico came back strong after losing the second set to beat Franco Ferreiro and Andre Sa of Brazil 7-6(1), 4-6, 11-9 in the final at the Bet-At-Home Cup in Kitzbuhel
on Saturday. The Italian/Mexican pair took almost an hour and 45 minutes to undo their opponents in a marathon contest.
Bracciali/Gonzalez and the Brazilians held their serve throughout the first set to square off the score at 6-6 and took the set to a tie-break. The Italian/Mexican combination crushed their opponents in the tie-break as they dropped
only one point, winning it 7-1.
Bracciali and Gonzalez hit 66 percent of the first serves and a couple of aces in the first set. The Italian/Mexican team served exceptionally well as they grabbed twenty of the 23 first service points and eight of the twelve second
service points. On the other hand, Ferreiro and Sa served averagely, converting eighteen of the 24 first serves and seven of the twelve second serves into points in the opening set. The Brazilians served poorly as they won just three of the 23 first return
points compared to six out of 24 by their opponents,
Ferreiro and Sa made a solid start in the second set, breaking the Italian/Mexican team in the opening game and holding their next service game to take a 2-0 lead. Bracciali and Gonzalez broke back in the sixth game to equalise
the score at 3-3 but they were broken again in the very next game to trail 3-4. Ferreiro and Sa served out the set at 5-4.
The Brazilians improved their service performance as they clinched twelve of the 21 points on the first serve and six of the nine points on the second serve in the second set. The 40th ranked team capitalised on the
two break point opportunities they created and saved three of the four break points they faced on their own serve in the second set.
Bracciali and Gonzalez claimed a couple of early mini-breaks to grab a 8-4 lead. However, Ferreiro and Sa won four points in a row to level the score at 8-8. The Italian/Mexican duo claimed another mini-break at 9-9 and won more
point on their serve to win 11-9.
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