Dlouhy/Melo edge past Fleming/Hutchins into title match – Moselle Open 2011
Seeded at number two in the tournament, the duo of Czech Lukas Dlouhy and Brazilian Marcelo Melo won the encounter against the fourth seeded British pair of Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins, in the semi-final of the Moselle Open,
on Friday night.
The contest was played on the indoor hard courts of the Arenes de Metz, in the city of Metz, France, with the second seeded contestants registering a hard fought victory. Dlouhy and Melo wrapped up the three-setter at 1-6, 6-4,
10-6, to earn a place in the final of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 tournament.
The contest lasted for one hour and ten eleven minutes, with the fourth seeded pair of Britons suffering a crushing defeat. Fleming and Hutchins were off to a brilliant start in the opener and absolutely devastated their opponent
to get one up in the contest but lost their way in the later parts of the match to finish on the losing. The Britons played good attacking tennis all-round but it appeared just the matter of time that they missed out some vital opportunities to let their opponents
take the better of them.
Fleming and Hutchins converted five out of nine break points, while the second seeded winners registered four serve breaks in the matchup to record victory. Both duos secured 26 first serve points each in the matchup and remained
evenly poised throughout the competition.
The opening set took off with Fleming and Hutchins registering two consecutive serve breaks right up to race away to a 4-0 lead in the set. Dlouhy and Melo replied with a break point but couldn’t prevent their opponent from nailing
a third serve break and taking the set at 6-1.
Dlouhy and Melo played blistering tennis in the second set and stung three serve breaks to close out the set in their name at 6-4. A decisive third set came into play and Dlouhy and Melo held their nerves under pressure to wrap
up a hard-fought victory at 10-6, getting into the final of the tournament.
Dlouhy and Melo will have to wait to know their opponents for the final of the Moselle Open, as the other semi-final clash will take place on Saturday. The local wildcard pair of Kenny de Schepper and Arnaud Clement will take on
the combination of Jamie Murray of the Great Britain and Andre Sa of Brazil in the other semi-final clash, with the winner of the match getting a title shot in the final against Dlouhy and Melo.
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