Knowles/Malisse down Anderson/Moser in the title-round – SAP Open 2012
Fourth seeded tandem, The Bahamas’ Mark Knowles and Belgium’s Xavier Malisse, overpowered the South African-German pair, Kevin Anderson and Frank Moser, in a tipsy-turvy match at the SAP Open 2012 on Sunday. They formulated a 6-4, 1-6, 10-5 success against
the unseeded junction to capture their second career title at this hard court tournament held in San Jose, United States.
The Bahamian-Belgian duo manipulated a lower first serve share and clicked fewer points but pulled out the victory in one hour and 16-minutes at the HP Pavilion. They stole all the limelight after subjugating in the super tie-breaker.
The high flying duo assertively entered the first set at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 series event and held their opening serve with poise. Knowles and Malisse lost their serve once but capitalised on two out of four break
opportunities to bag the opener with a 6-4 win.
The unseeded junction sought the winning track in the proceeding set. They kept entire serves without facing any hindrance and cashed in half of the four break chances to pocket a breadstick.
In the super tie-breaker, both teams displayed brilliant skills and abilities. Knowles and Malisse manifested a lower first serve share of 71 percent as compared to their opponents’ 75 percent. However, they clicked three out of five points on it and availed
both points on their returns, subsequently winning the decider with a 10-5 score line.
Overall, the Bahamian-Belgian veterans proved their class in the final set to overpower the South African-German team in their first meeting.
Knowles became the first player to win the title in San Jose at age 40 and over since John McEnroe in 2006. He also improved to a 55-44 win-loss record in the doubles final.
"To be in a sentence with John McEnroe is pretty cool," said the Bahamian after the win. "I’ll take that. I didn’t realize that. To win a title at 40 years old is far beyond anything I could have dreamed of. When you first turn pro, you never really dream
of playing 20-plus years on tour."
"It seems like I’m playing well here," Malisse was quoted. "It’s been nice to play with Knowlzee. I won with him in L.A. I like playing doubles.”
The first-time pairing of Anderson and Moser on the other end showed tremendous co-ordination to secure this spot. Both contenders were eying for their first ATP doubles title at this event.
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