Chardy/Simon prevail over Bhupathi/Bopanna in the quarter-finals – German Tennis Championships 2012
Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna of India were upset by the French duo of Jeremy Chardy and Gilles Simon 7-5, 3-6, 7-10 at the last-eight stage of Bet-at-home German Tennis Championships in Hamburg on Friday. The top seeds lost the match after a battle of one hour and 19 minutes.
Bhupathi/Bopanna and Chardy/Simon won their opening serves to level the score at 1-1. The Indian tandem struck in the third game and consolidated on it to grab a 3-1 lead. Bhupathi and Bopanna failed to serve out the set in the 10th game, evening out the proceedings at 5-5. However, the higher ranked players pocketed a breakthrough once again in the 11th and made the most of it to win 7-5.
The Indian duo fired three aces but also committed one double fault in the first set. The right-handers had a below par first serve percentage of 53, succeeding to claim 13 of the 18 points on them. The Indians evaded two of the three break threats they came across and availed two of the three chances they created.
The start of the second set was a bit stable if compared to the opener, as both teams held their serve in the first five games to take the score to 3-2 in favour of Chardy and Simon. The French team hit a blow to their opponents in the sixth and capitalised on that to move ahead 5-2. Chardy and Simon did not allow their rivals to come back in the set, capturing it 6-3.
The French combination served superbly, banging in a couple of aces and 81 percent of the first deliveries in the second set. The 69th ranked duo converted 17 of the 21 first and three of the five second serves into points. The Frenchmen saved both break points they faced and converted one of the four they received.
In the match tie-breaker, Chardy and Simon grabbed five of the opening seven points to take a 5-2 lead but Bhupathi and Bopanna bounced back to level at 5-5. Both teams held their following four serve points to take the score to 7-7. The French team bagged final three points to seal it 10-7.
Chardy and Simon kept their first serve percentage at 88, securing five of the seven points on them. They lost five of the eight points on the first returns but grabbed the one on second.
The French duo will play Rogerio Dutra Silva and Daniel Munoz-De La Nava in the semis.
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