Jurgen Melzer, Philipp Petzschner reach semi-finals of Sony Ericsson Open 2011
Jurgen Melzer and Philipp Petzschner battled past Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram of Israel in three sets 4-6, 6-4, 10-8 in the quarter-finals of the Sony Ericsson Open 2011.
It took the fourth seeded pair 1 hour and 18 minutes to beat its opponents.
Erlich and Ram played aggressively in the opening set, breaking their opponents once in the set to win it 6-4. The Israeli pair fired in 4 aces and committed 2 double faults in the first set. It delivered 68 per cent of the first serves, winning a
whopping 94 per cent of the points on them. Erlich and Ram converted 1 of the 2 break points they received in the opening set and did not face a single break point in the opener.
After losing the opening set, Melzer and Petzschner fought back as they broke their opponents in the fifth and ninth game of the second set, claiming it 6-4.
The Austrian/German pair hit 2 aces and 48 per cent of the first serves in the second set. They won 92 per cent of the points on the first serve. In comparison, Erlich and Ram delivered 60 per cent of the first serves, converting 56 per cent of them
into points. The Israeli pair saved 3 of the 5 break points they faced in the second set.
In the match tie-break, both pairs played impressively, hitting huge forehand winners and serving accurately. However, Melzer and Petzschner handled the pressure better than their opponents at the crucial points and forced their opponents to
commit errors. The duo claimed a mini-break, winning the match tie-break 10-8.
Melzer and Petzschner extraordinarily delivered 100 per cent of the first serves in the decider and won a whopping 89 per cent of the points on them. In comparison, Erlich and Ram hit 78 per cent of the first serves and converted 71 per cent of them
into points.
With this win, the Austrian/German pair improved their win/loss record to 10-4 in 2011. They started the season at the Australian Open, where they lost to world number one pair of Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan of US in straight sets 3-6, 6-7 in the quarter-finals.
In their previous tournament, the duo was defeated by Czech/Australian pair of Lukas Dlouhy and Paul Hanley in a marathon three-set match 7-6, 6-7, 10-12 in the round of 16 at the BNP Paribas Open.
Melzer and Petzschner will play Belarusian/Canadian pair of Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor in the semi-finals. Mirnyi and Nestor prevailed over Swedish/Romanian pair of Robert Lindstedt and Horia Tecau, seeded second at the championship in straight sets
7-5, 6-0 in the quarter-finals.
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