Ferrer/Ferrero fallout from the opener at the hands of Berlocq/Dolgopolov – Valencia Open 2012
Former world number one, Juan Carlos Ferrero, announced his retirement from the professional circuit this week but he collected a cracking victory in the doubles category of Valencia Open before saying good bye to the tennis courts.
Receiving a wildcard entry to the tournament draw, the Spanish duo of David Ferrer and Juan Carlos Ferrero registered a thumping win against the Argentinean-Ukrainian tandem of Carlos Berlocq and Alexandr Dolgopolov on Wednesday. They laboured hard for one
hour and 13 minutes before settling the final score line at 3-6, 6-3, 10-7, to remain alive in the hint of the ATP World Tour 500 title.
It was one of the most thrilling doubles encounters of the day in Valencia. The home favourite Spaniards were expected to come out as the winner prior to the contest but no one expected Berlocq and Dolgopolov to stretch them to
their limits before submitting. Ferrer and Ferrero were off to a very sloppy start and were soon found astray of their track. They took their time to get settled in the contest but by the time they got their eye in the game, Berlocq and Dolgopolov had clinched
the opening set.
The Argentinean-Ukrainian combination served brilliantly in the opener, bagging 15 out of 19 first serve points and breaking their Spanish opponents in the sixth game to get into the driving seat. Ferrer and Ferrero had a break
opportunity but they frittered it away carelessly, eventually losing the first set at 3-6.
Things started to get better for the Spanish wildcard entrants in the following set and they started to play more aggressive tennis. Ferrer and Ferrero took a flyer at the beginning, nailing two successive serve breaks in fourth
and sixth games to rocket away to a 5-1 astounding lead. Berlocq and Dolgopolov tried to retaliate and broke their rival’s serve in the seventh game but couldn’t do anything else to bridge the difference in the scores. The Spaniards won the second set at 6-3
and enforced a super tie-breaker round.
Ferrer and Ferrero faced some real resistance in the decider but held their focus all the way to victory, finishing off the match at 10-7.
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