Llodra/Zimonjic edge past Butorac/Rojer in the second round - BNP Paribas Masters 2011
Rated at number two in the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Team Rankings, the duo of Michael Llodra of France and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia, registered a hard-fought victory over the unseeded pair of Eric Butorac
of the United States and Jean-Julien Rojer of Curacao, in the second round of the BNP Paribas Masters on Thursday evening.
The contest was played on the indoor hard courts of Paris, France, with the second seeded duo wrapping up victory at 6-3, 4-6, 14-12, after a one hour and twenty two-minute battle. Both teams displayed their sheer resilience in
the contest and took each other to their limits. The contest remained evenly poised till the very last minute but it was the experience of Llodra and Zimonjic which took them to the finishing line in the end.
Llodra and Zimonjic took the opening set in a convincing manner and it appeared as if the belligerent second seeded duo will go for a straight sets victory. Butorac and Rojer made a tremendous come back in the following set and
outclassed their opponents to enforce a super tie breaker round into play. The decider also went to the wire before Llodra and Zimonjic eventually nailed a crucial mini-break to seal their 45th
victory in doubles encounters in the running season.
Both duos registered two break points apiece in the contest and evenly matched their opponents in most segments of the game. It all came down to the super tie breaker, which was stretched to a total of 26 points, before Llodra
and Zimonjic closed out their sweating victory.
The world number two pair has already bagged four ATP doubles championship titles in the current year and their impactful start to the Paris Masters suggests that they are well up for a fifth one. They met Butorac and Rojer in
the round of 16 at the Cincinnati Masters earlier this season and outplayed them in a three-setter, 5-7, 6-4, 10-5, to reach the quarter-finals of the Masters Series event. They now have a 45-13 winning record for the year and lead 2-0 against the duo Butorac
and Rojer, which is rated at number eight in the world rankings.
Llodra and Zimonjic will meet the seventh seeded Indo-Pak Express of Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi in the round of eight to fight for a place in the semis of the BNP Paribas Masters. Bopanna and Qureshi registered a comprehensive
straight sets victory over the unseeded British pair of Colin Fleming and Jamie Murray, 6-4, 6-3, in the second round to make a berth in the quarter-finals of the tournament.
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