Dlouhy/Dolgopolov, Berdych/Stepanek proceed to the second round – Western & Southern Open 2011
Dlouhy/Dolgopolov beat Lopez Verdasco 7-6(4), 6-3
Czech/Ukrainian team of Lukas Dlouhy and Alexandr Dolgopolov dismissed Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco of Spain in straight sets 7-6(4), 6-3 in the opening round at the Sony Ericsson Open in Cincinnati on Wednesday. The match
lasted for an hour and ten minutes.
Lopez and Verdasco drew the first blood as they broke the Czech/Ukrainian pair in the second game of the first set to take a 2-0. Dlouhy and Dolgopolov broke back immediately and held their serve in the fourth game to square off
the score at 2-2. The Spaniards and Dlouhy/Dolgopolov held their serve in the next eight games to take the score to 6-6, forcing a tie-break. The Czech/Ukrainian duo hit a fore-hand volley winner to claim a mini-break in the tie-break, winning it 7-4.
Dlouhy and Dolgopolov carried the winning momentum into the second set and claimed an early breakthrough, breaking the Spaniards in the fourth game and holding their next service game to build a 4-1 lead. The Czech/Ukrainian combination
maintained the lead throughout the set, serving it out at 5-3.
The unseeded pair is slated to face top seeds Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan of USA in the second round.
Berdych/Stepanek defeat Almagro/Andujar 6-2, 6-3
Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek of Czech Republic knocked out Nicolas Almagro and Pablo Andujar of Spain in straight sets 6-2, 6-3 to qualify for the round of 16. The Czech pair needed just 59 minutes to win an easy match.
Berdych and Stepanek thrashed the Spaniards in the first set as they dropped just two games, breaking their opponents twice to capture the set 6-2. The Czech duo sealed eleven of the fifteen first service points and five of the
seven second service points. The right-handers troubled their opponents with their offensive returns as they claimed an incredible six of the eleven first return points in the opening set.
The Czech team and Almagro/Andujar won their serve in the first five games of the second set, taking the score to 3-2 in the former’s favour. Berdych and Stepanek broke the Spanish duo in the sixth game and consolidated on it to
grab a 5-2 lead. The unseeded pair served out the set in the ninth game, grabbing it 6-3. The Czech combination hit three aces and fifteen of the nineteen first service points in the second set.
Berdych and Stepanek will play Swedish/Romanian pair of Robert Lindstedt and Horia Tecau in the round of 16.
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