Llodra/Zimonjic rally past Lindstedt/Tecau to claim title – World Tennis Tournament 2012
French-Serbian duo of Michael Llodra and Nenad Zimonjic fought back from a set down to beat Swedish-Romanian combination of Robert Lindstedt and Horia Tecau, 4-6, 7-5, 16-14, in the final at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament
in Rotterdam, the Netherlands on Sunday. Llodra and Zimonjic needed an hour and 41 minutes to win the marathon match in the end.
Lindstedt and Tecau did not give their opponents any chance to settle down, breaking Llodra and Zimonjic in the very first game of the match. The rest of the set didn’t see any drama, with Lindstedt and Tecau winning it 6-4.
The Swede and Romanian dominated on the serve, hitting two aces and sealing 16 of the 18 first delivery points. In comparison, Llodra and Zimonjic were not too far behind, as they grabbed 10 of their 14.
In a similar fashion to the opener, Lindstedt and Tecau broke the French-Serbian pair in the first game and held their serve in the next to take a 2-0 advantage. Though, Llodra and Zimonjic managed to make their way back
this time, equalising the score at 3-3. Lindstedt and Tecau failed to hold when they served at 5-6, handing over the set to their opponents 5-7.
Llodra and Zimonjic fared brilliantly on their return game, as they bagged 10 out of 24 first and four of the 10 second return points to root out their opponents. Both teams fired four aces but Llodra and Zimonjic also hit
a double fault compared to none by Lindstedt and Tecau.
The super tie-break saw both teams battling fiercely for the title. Finally, it was Llodra and Zimonjic who converted their fourth match point to win the contest 16-14.
Jubilant Zimonjic said, "I have no idea how we did it. They were controlling the match for a set and a half, playing really good, not giving us any chances on their serves. After a really good game, when we broke Lindstedt,
we got back in the match. Then it was a rollercoaster, saving a lot of match points, so I'm really happy."
Llodra added, “When we beat them in the Washington final, we thought that was crazy, but today it's even better. It's always good to win. It's only our second tournament this year and we've already won a title. We fought
until the end. It's a great tournament for us.”
Llodra and Zimonjic came together last year and this is their fifth title as a team.
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