Karlovic/Moser upset Bryans in the quarterfinal – Delray Beach International 2012
Croatian-German duo of Ivo Karlovic and Frank Moser made the biggest upset of the doubles event, battling past top seeds Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan 4-6, 6-4 10-4 in the quarter-finals at the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships
in Florida, USA on Thursday.
Karlovic and Moser needed only an hour and 17 minutes to upset the American twins.
Both teams held their serves in the first nine games of the opening set, taking the score to 5-4 in favour of the Bryans. Karlovic and Moser could not hold in the 10th, dropping the set 4-6.
Bryans fired a couple of aces and 79 percent of the first deliveries, converting 16 of the 19 of them into points, while Karlovic and Moser hit three aces and same number of double faults. The Croatian-German team could not create
any break opportunity and failed to save the only one they faced.
The start of the second set was quite similar to the first one, as both teams comfortably won their serve in the first four games to square off the score at 2-2. Karlovic and Moser made breakthrough in the fifth and consolidated
on it to grab a 4-2 lead. The Croatian-German combination served out the set at 5-4.
Karlovic/Moser and Bryans matched each other with four aces. However, the twins committed two double faults compared to one by their opponents. The Croatian-German duo delivered 71 percent of the first serves, winning 16 of the
20 points on them.
The unseeded pair, Karlovic and Moser, raised the level of their game in the match tie-breaker. They lost just four points, winning it 10-4.
Bryan brothers, who are hoping to win gold medal at the London Olympics, have to regroup after this loss. The Olympics is the only major title which they are yet to win in their illustrious careers. According to the twins, this
would be their last Olympics, as they are getting older and have family commitments now.
"We can't plan on playing Rio," Bob said.
The American added, "In our 20s, nothing would come between our career. We wouldn't change our schedule to fly home to see our girlfriend. That doesn't mean we still don't hate to lose. We still don't sleep for three days after
a loss. But having a baby and Mike being engaged has put stuff in perspective. It feels like you're working out here for a bigger team."
Karlovic and Moser are slated to take on Michal Mertinak and Andre Sa in the semi-finals.
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