Fratangelo/Halebian edge past Hossam/Novikov into Boys' Doubles 2nd round – US Open 2011
Bjorn Fratangelo and Alexios Halebian of USA came back after losing the second set to overcome Egyptian/American duo of Karim Hossam and Dennis Novikov 7-6(9), 4-6, 10-8 in the first round of the boys’ doubles event at the US Open
in New York on Monday. The Americans needed an hour and 27 minutes to beat their opponents in a close encounter.
Frantangelo/Halebian and the Egyptian/American team won their serve in the first four games of the opening set, equalising the score at 2-2. The Americans drew the first blood as they broke Hossam and Novikov in the fifth game
and won their next service game to take the score to 4-2. The Egyptian/American pair broke back in the tenth game to tie the score at 5-5. The Americans and Frantangelo/Halebian held their serve in the following two games to take the score to 6-6, forcing
a tie-break. The tie-break saw a thrilling contest but it was the American team that prevailed in the end, breaking Hossam and Novikov in the end to win 11-9.
The Americans fired 64 percent of the first serves, sealing 21 of the 28 points on the first serve and nine of the sixteen points on the second serve in the opening set. Frantangelo and Halebian played cautiously as they hit only
one winner and committed the same number of unforced error in the first set. The Americans claimed fourteen of the 42 receiving points and converted one of the three break points they received on the Egyptian/American team’s serve in the first set.
Hossam and Novikov took an early lead in the second set as they broke the Americans in the third game and won their next service game to go up 3-1. The Egyptian/American combination capitalised on the single break of serve and
served out the set in the tenth game, capturing it 6-4.
The unseeded team served quite well as they fired two aces and 58 percent of the first deliveries, winning twelve of the fifteen first service points and eight of the eleven second service points in the second set. Hossam and Novikov
hit two winners and converted oen of the five break points they received in the second set.
Fratangelo and Halebian came back in the match tie-break, claiming a lone mini-break and capitalising on it to win 10-8. They bombarded 89 percent of the first serves and captured six of the eight points on the first serve in the
second set.
The Americans will take on Hugo Dellien and Diego Hidalgo in the second round.
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