Lopez/Nadal surprise Fyrstenberg/Matkowski to reach the doubles final – BNP Paribas Open 2012
A stunning result was seen in the doubles semi-final of the BNP Paribas Open on Thursday, as the belligerent Spanish duo of Marc Lopez and Rafael Nadal outplayed the sixth seeded hot favourite Pole pair of Mariusz Fyrstenberg and
Marcin Matkowski. The unseeded Spaniards took just 52 minutes of play to dive their veteran opponents in straight sets, 6-2, 6-0, to reach the final of the first ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Masters 1000 event of the year.
The two under-rated Spaniards exhibited a classic display of pure domination and aggression to register a surprise victory over the strongest contenders for the title. Lopez and Nadal developed great coordination among them and
put their individual efforts together with amazing chemistry to annihilate their opponents. Fyrstenberg and Matkowski, who have been in supreme form throughout the tournament so far, could only win two games in the entire matchup, suffering a huge defeat with
a bagel in the second set.
Lopez and Nadal delivered just 56 per cent of their first serve on target and dropped merely three points on it, winning 17 out of 20 en route to victory. They crafted nine break opportunities in the contest and cashed in five
of them to seal a resounding victory in the end. Fyrstenberg and Matkowski had three break chances but their bleak and error-ridden game play didn’t allow them to convert any of the opportunities, keeping them at a disadvantage throughout the contest.
The unseeded Spaniards were off to an aggressive start in the opening set and broke early to get to a 3-1 lead. Fyrstenberg and Matkowski frittered away three break opportunities in the opener and suffered another cracking break
of serve in the last moments of the set to lose it 2-6.
Once getting into their winning groove, Lopez and Nadal went into the rage mode in the following set, absolutely manhandling the sixth seeded opponents. They broke the Pole serve three times in succession and rocketed away to victory
by winning the set in just 20 minutes of play. Lopez and Nadal will face the winner of the second semi-final of the tournament due to be played on Friday.
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