Granollers/Lopez dumps Qureshi-Rojer to enter semis – Barclays ATP World Tour Finals 2012
Spanish duo, Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez, triumphs over the seventh seeds, Pakistan’s Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi and Netherlands’ Jean-Julien Rojer, in straight sets at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals 2012 on Saturday. They nudged up a 6-4, 6-2 victory against their opponents to secure a spot in the final four at this season-ending tournament taking place in London, England.
Seeded sixth in this tournament, Granollers and Lopez showed brilliant co-operation and co-ordination throughout the tournament, eventually carving out the victory in one hour and 10 minutes. Battling each other for the second time, the Spaniard not only improved to a 2-0 lifetime in the FedEx ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Head 2 Head Series against Qureshi and Rojer and progressed into the semi-finals at this indoor hard court event.
Granollers and Lopez made a thunderous entry at The O2 Arena. They reeled off the opening three games and leaped to a 3-0 lead with two breaks of serve. Apart from losing their serve in the very next game, the Spaniards maintained consistency in their game, eventually sealing the opener by winning six games to four. They warded off one out of two breakpoints they came across and availed two out of six break chances to prevail.
Ranked sixth in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Doubles Rankings, Granollers and Lopez kept momentum rolling in the following set. They got the desiderated break in the opening game and jumped to a 2-0 lead. The Spaniards cashed another break chance in the fifth game and consequently clinched the set with a 6-2 score line.
On the whole, Granollers and Lopez formulated a slightly lower first serve share of 57 per cent as compared to their rivals’ 58 per cent but magnificently availed 20 out of 29 points on it. They also hammered an ace and finished the deal with 60 points.
Up next for the Spaniards are the eighth seeds, British Jonathan Marray and Denmark’s Frederik Nielsen. Marray and Nielsen stunned the second seeded Belarusian-Canadian tandem, Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor, in a three set thriller to occupy a spot in the semi-finals.
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