Franco Ferreiro/Andre Sa beat Kevin Anderson/David Martin to reach Delray Beach Doubles quarterfinal
Unseeded Brazilian pair of Franco Ferreiro and Andre Sa defeated the duo of South African Kevin Anderson and the American David Martin in the first round of the doubles category of the Delray Beach International Championships on Wednesday night. The straight
sets victory for the Brazilians took 90 minutes, ending with the final score of 7-6, 6-3. The South African Open winner, Kevin Anderson could not prevent the defeat for his side, as his partnership remained competitive in the opening set but wore off later
in the match.
Ferreiro and Sa used their combined efforts perfectly to outplay their opponents. They delivered almost 80 per cent of their first serve on target and won 38 out of a total of 53 first serve points. The winning pair frittered some opportunities in the contest,
but kept winning points on crucial moments of the game.
The Brazilians kicked off the opener in aggressive fashion, as they converted plenty of net volleys into easy points and put their opponents under pressure early. Their cross-court shot making was magnificent, as was their baseline defence.
The winning pair was very agile to cut down the angles of the opponent’s shots and returned cracking fore-hand smashes right through the gap between the two opponents. The shot selection of Ferreiro and Sa was appreciable and one of the differentiating factors
in the contest.
Both teams exchanged a serve break early in the first set, as another break chance came to both contestants but they failed to convert. The opening set kept moving on even terms and a tie breaker had to come in play at 6-6.
Ferreiro and Sa worked brilliantly together in the tie breaker, with Ferreiro belting some cracking winners down the line. The opponents’ stiff resistance extended the tie breaker round to a total of 18 points. A mini-break towards the end of the round proved
fruitful for Ferreiro and Sa, as they clinch the first set after a tough fight at 7-6.
The Brazilians completely dominated the second set and blew away their opponents in almost half an hour. With an impressive first serve percentage of 77 and winning 20 of total 26 serve points in the set, Ferreiro and Sa eased through the set.
Anderson and Martin never went near to a serve break, but provided six chances to the opposition to break their serve. The Brazilians converted only one break point and it proved to be sufficient for them to win. Ferreiro and Sa closed out the contest at
an assertive score of 6-3 to qualify for the quarter-final of the tournament.
The Australian pair of Matthew Ebden and Samuel Groth awaits Ferreiro and Sa in the quarter-final this week. The Aussies had a convincing victory over the American-Canadian pair of James Cerretani and Adil Shamasdin in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4 to ease pass
the first round.
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