Ebden/Harrison down Anderson/De Voest to reach semis – BB&T Atlanta Open 2012
Australian-American tandem, Matthew Ebden and Ryan Harrison, made an epic comeback from a set down to outshine the South African duo, Kevin Anderson and Rik De Voest, in a three-set thriller at the BB&T Atlanta Open 2012 on Friday. They formulated a 6-7(2),
6-4, 10-4 victory against their rivals to progress into the semi-finals at this outdoor hard court tournament held in Johns Creek, United States.
The Australian-American tandem stayed on track to bid for their second career title together after overpowering the South Africans in their first encounter. They required one hour and 32 minutes booking a place in the final four at this ATP (Association
of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 series event taking place from 14th to 22nd July.
The South African duo made a strong entry at the Atlantic Station and drew the first blood in the fifth game to jump to a 4-2 lead. Despite squandering their edge in the eighth game, Anderson and De Voest held their remaining serves and imposed a tie-breaker.
They dominated in it and pulled out the opener with a 7-6(2) score line.
Ebden and Harrison rebounded in the follow-up set despite suffering the initial blow in the fourth game and trailing at 1-3. They quickly snatched their break back in the very next game and got the breakthrough in the ninth game, eventually sealing the equaliser
with a 6-4 win.
Ranked 32nd in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Doubles rankings, Ebden and Harrison maintained consistency in their game in the final set which matter the most. They cruised to a 9-2 lead in it before carving out the decider with a 10-4
success.
All in all, the winning tandem of Ebden and Harrison manifested a slightly higher first serve share of 69 per cent as compared to the South Africans’ 67 per cent and tremendously marked 37 out of 49 points on it. They also fired four aces and finished the
match with 72 points.
Next challenge for Ebden and Harrison is the top seeded British tandem, Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins, who received a walkover win against Russia's Alex Bogomolov and Luxembourg's Gilles Muller.
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