Fleming/Hutchins overcome Cermak/Polasek in the semi-finals – St. Petersburg Open 2011
Top seeded duo of Frantisek Cermak of Czech Republic and Filip Polasek of Slovakia was stunned by the 22nd ranked British pair of Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins in the semi-finals of the St. Petersburg Open on Friday evening.
Rated at number 11 in ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Doubles Team Rankings, Cermak and Polasek hung in the contest for merely 73 minutes of play before submitting in straight sets 4-6, 4-6. Fleming and Hutchins cruised through both sets with commanding
ease to earn a title shot in the final of the ATP World Tour 250 event.
The contest was played on the indoor hard courts of the Petersburg Sports and Concert Complex in Saint Petersburg, Russia, with the Britons displaying their brilliance in the game to dump the top seeded duo out of the competition. It was the 17th
victory for the team of Fleming and Hutchins in doubles encounters and a much needed one as well. The Britons are yet to clinch their first doubles championship title and have earned a perfect opportunity to end their drought in Saint Petersburg.
Both teams secured 28 first serve points apiece in the matchup but Cermak and Polasek were outdone by the crushing serve breaks from their opponents. The Britons nailed two break point conversions in the matchup, while the top seeded duo utterly failed to
register a single one in the entire contest. Cermak and Polasek crafted four break opportunities in the match but squandered away all four of them to finish on the losing side in the end.
The opening set took a steady start, with the contestants getting their eye in the game. No serve breaks were seen in the opening nine games of the match, with Fleming and Hutchins finally registering the first one in the 10th game to seal the
set at 6-4. The following set was a complete replication of the first one, as both side failed to break the opponents’ serve in the first nine games and the Britons again nailed one in the 10th game to conclude their stunning victory at 6-4.
The third seeded duo will either face the German pair of Michael Kohlmann and Alexander Waske or the Russian team of Michail Elgin and Alexandre Kudryavtsev in the final of the St. Petersburg Open on Sunday night. Both semi-finalist duos will compete against
each other on Saturday evening and the winner will have a title shot against Fleming and Hutchins in the final.
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