Fisher/Kerr takes down Clement/Mahut in opening round – Hall of Fame Championships 2011
Wildcard Australian pair of Ashley Fisher and Jordan Kerr made a place in the quarter-finals of the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships Doubles, after defeating the French duo of Arnaud Clement and Nicolas Mahut on Wednesday.
Being played at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, United States, the enthralling contest lasted for one hour and twelve minutes before Fisher and Kerr finally stood victorious in the third set, 1-6,
6-3, 11-9.
The French pair played magnificently in the contest and hung in the game till the last moment before suffering a loss in the end. Clement and Mahut had a brilliant start to the competition, adopting aggressive strategy right from
the beginning to get the early advantage. The French appeared totally unplayable in the opening set and launched a series of forays on their opponents, not allowing them to settle in the game.
Clement and Mahut reeled off 11 out of 11 first serve points in the opener and stung two successive serve breaks to get the upper hand over the Australians. The opening set fell to the French competitors at 6-1, and it looked as
if the Australian duo will not recover from such heavy loss so early in the contest but it went the other way round.
Tide turned in the very next set, when Fisher and Kerr came out firing at their opponents. The Aussies dropped their serve early in the second set as well but then combined their efforts with great coordination to backfire at Clement
and Mahut. Fisher and Kerr cracked in two straight serve breaks to force their way to set point at 5-3 and then rightfully cashed in the opportunity to seal the set at 6-3, levelling the matchup with one set a piece.
With both teams winning one set a piece, the decider was bound to be a thriller. Both pairs went on neck-to-neck in the final set and exhibited some real intense tennis in hunt for victory. The decider was stretched to a total
of 20 points but an all-important mini-break in the very last moments of the game bestowed victory upon Fisher and Kerr at 11-9, sending them into the quarter-finals of the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships.
The Australians will take on the combination of Ivo Karlovic from Croatia and Frank Moser of Germany in their next matchup for a berth in the semi-finals of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 tournament.
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