Ferreiro/Sa edge Andreev/Gimeno-Traver to advance to the title match – Bet-At-Home Cup 2011
Brazilians Franco Ferreiro and Andre Sa battled past Russian/Spanish team of Igor Andreev and Daniel Gimeno-Traver in three sets 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 12-10 in the semi-finals at the Bet-At-Home Cup in Kitzbuhel on Friday. The match
lasted for two hours and nine minutes.
Ferreiro and Sa drew the first blood as they broke the Russian/Spanish pair in the fourth game of the opening set and held their serve in the next game to go ahead 4-1. Andreev and Gimeno-Traver broke back in the seventh game and
held their serve in the next game to equalise the score at 4-4. The Russian/Spanish duo and Ferreiro/Sa held their serve in the next four games to take the score to 6-6, forcing a tie-break. The Brazilians captured an early mini-break in the tie-break and
won it 7-5.
Ferreiro and Sa delivered 75 percent of the first serves and a couple of double faults in the opening set. The Brazilians grabbed 22 of the 23 first service points and five of the eleven second service points. Ferreiro and Sa saved
five of the six break points they faced and converted one of the seven break points they received in the first set.
In the second set, both teams failed to hold their serve in the first four games, levelling the score at 2-2. Ferreiro and Sa broke their opponents again in the eleventh game but they failed to serve out the match, squaring off
the score at 6-6 and taking the set to a tie-break. Andreev and Gimeno-Traver claimed last four points to win the tie-break 7-3.
The Russian/Spanish team hit 56 percent of the first serves and three aces in the second set. Andreev and Gimeno-Traver converted seventeen of the 23 points on the first serves and six of the eighteen second serves into points
in the second set. The unseeded team capitalised on three of the eight break point opportunities they created and saved five of the eight break points they faced in the second set.
The match tie-break saw a tough fight between both teams. Ferreiro and Sa clinched a late mini-break to win it 12-10. The Brazilians did not have an impressive service performance but they made less errors compared to their opponents
to win the contest. Ferreiro and Sa won less total points than their opponents in the match. However, the Brazilians stood strong when it mattered most.
The 40th ranked team will face fourth seeds Daniele Bracciali of Italy and Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico in the final.
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