Lindstedt/Tecau rallies past Qureshi/Rojer to reach semis – Rogers Cup 2012
Fourth seeds, Sweden’s Robert Lindstedt and Romania’s Horia Tecau, required three sets to outclass the Pakistani-Dutch junction, Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi and Jean-Julien Rojer, at the Rogers Cup 2012 on Friday. They juggled up a 6-4, 3-6, 10-7 victory against
the lower seeds to progress into the final four at this outdoor hard court tournament taking place from 4th to 12th August in Toronto, Canada.
The Swedish-Romanian tandem overpowered the seventh seeds in their first battle against each other. After pocketing the match in one hour and 23 minutes, Lindstedt and Tecau assertively secured a place in the semi-finals at the Rexall Centre.
Lindstedt and Tecau enthusiastically entered this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Masters 1000 event. They drew the first blood in the third game and jumped to a 3-1 lead. The Swedish-Romanian duo held their remaining serves with self-assurance
and eventually sealed the opener by winning six games to four. They kept their entire serves without encountering any hindrance and converted one out of two break chances to their advantage.
The seventh seeded Pakistani-Dutch pair, which conquered two tournaments this circuit, rebounded in the follow-up set. They brilliantly brushed off both breakpoints they came across. Qureshi and Rojer cashed in the lone break chance in the eighth game and
consequently clinched the equaliser with a 6-3 score line.
The match could have gone in any direction but the higher ranked team re-gained their early momentum in the final set. They cruised to a 3-1 lead before carving out the decider with a 10-7 success.
All in all, Lindstedt and Tecau hammered nine aces and manifested an amazing first serve share of 74 per cent in contrast with their opponents’ 48 per cent. They also availed 32 out of 40 points on it and took full advantage of the eight double faults their
rivals spilled.
The Swedish-Romanian pair are enjoying amazing season this year. With this victory, they improved to a 37-14 win-loss record this circuit and moved a step closer towards their fourth year-to-date title.
They will next face the winner of the match between top seeds, Belarus’ Max Mirnyi and Canada’s Daniel Nestor, and the eighth seeded Spaniards, Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez.
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