Kops-Jones/Spears bounce over Barty/Dellacqua to reach the final – Brisbane WTA 2012
American duo of Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears hit back from a set down to overpower local wildcard entrants, Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua, in three sets at the Brisbane International 2012 on Friday. The Americans registered
a 5-7, 7-6(3), 10-7 victory over their opponents to secure a title-round spot at this first WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier event of the season.
Jones and Spears displayed amazing coordination to overwhelm the local entrants in one hour and 44 minutes-long match to book a berth in this outdoor hard court tournament.
The American tandem confidently entered the opening set and drew the first blood in the fourth game to extend the lead by 3-1. Despite of losing their serve in the very next game, they broke their rivals’ serve again in the sixth
game to keep their dominance in the set. Jones and Spears faced another blow in the ninth game but they clinched the set with a 7-5 score line after breaking Aussies serve again in the last game.
Barty and Dellacqua carried their losing ways in the second set and gifted away their serve in the opening game. However, they recovered in the proceeding game and maintained consistency in their games to pluck the remaining serves.
The set went to a tie-breaker, where the Australian junction prevailed and bagged the equaliser with a 7-6(3) score line.
The American collaboration of Jones and Spears found their rhythm again in the super tie-breaker. They were all over the court and after clobbering a perfect first serve share, Jones and Spears sealed the decider by winning ten
games to seven.
Overall, the winning combination of Jones and Spears formulated an equal first serve share of 67 percent and clinched 39 out of 56 points on it. They dusted away five out of eight breakpoints she encountered and cashed in half
of the four break chances. The Americans also spilled fewer errors and double faults, eventually advancing in this tournament.
Next up for the high flying American duo are the fourth seeded Spaniards, Nuria Llagostera Vives and Arantxa Parra Santonja, who upset second seeds, Iveta Benesova and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, in straight sets to reach this
spot.
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