Fyrstenberg/Matkowski dump Llodra/Zimonjic in opening doubles – ATP World Tour Finals 2011
A surprising outcome was seen in the doubles draw of the Barclays ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour Finals, as the world number two duo of Michael Llodra of France and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia suffered a close defeat at the hands of the eighth seed Pole team of Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski on Sunday evening.
The local crowd at the O2 Arena in London was in for a stunning performance from the world number eight pair, which wrapped up a hard-fought victory at 6-4, 5-7, 11-9, to top the Group B standings on the day one of the season ending grand finale.
Second seeded Llodra and Zimonjic hung in the contest for one hour and forty five minutes of play before falling in the last minutes of the matchup. The Pole competitors remained focused throughout the contest and converted most of their opportunities in the matchup to turn the tables on their opponents.
Fyrstenberg and Matkowski finally snapped the three-match losing streak against the second seeded duo, exhibiting a brilliant combination of power and technique to come on top in the end. Llodra and Zimonjic were outplayed in the opening set of the match but a timely break point conversion towards the end of the following set brought them back in the game. A nail-biting super tie-breaker round was played between the two sides, extending to a total of 20 points, before Fyrstenberg and Matkowski eventually claimed victory to stand tall against the second ranked duo.
“It was a slow start from me, starting with two double faults in my first game,” told Zimonjic, “After that we played better. The second set, they had absolutely no chances on our serves. It was unfortunate to start 3-0 down in the Match tie-break. They made some big returns, especially from Matkowski, on the big points. I thought at the end there was a little bit of luck involved on the 9-all point. But these are always close matches and one or two points decide it.”
Both teams registered three serve breaks apiece in the first two sets but it was the super tie-breaker which all mattered in the end. The decider went on neck-to-neck before Fyrstenberg and Matkowski slipped in the most crucial mini-break of the match to claim an emphatic victory at 11-9 in the end.
Fyrstenberg and Matkowski will take on the third seeded duo of Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor, who outplayed the Indo-Pak Express on day one of the event, in the next Round Robin matchup on Tuesday evening.
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