Marc Lopez/Rafael Nadal down Dolgopolov/Malisse to reach quarters – BNP Paribas Open 2012
Spanish duo, Marc Lopez and Rafael Nadal, stomped over the Ukrainian-Belgian pair of Alexander Dolgopolov and Xavier Malisse in straight sets at the BNP Paribas Open 2012 on Monday. They formulated a 6-4, 6-3 victory over their opponents to advance into
the final eight at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour Masters 1000 event held in California, United States.
The high flying Spaniards showed tremendous skills and co-operation to oust the Ukrainian-Belgian junction in their first meeting. After pocketing the match in this 75-minute battle, Lopez and Nadal confidently advanced into the quarter-finals at this hard
court event.
Playing their first match together this season, the Spanish tandem assertively entered the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and held their serve in the opening game. The tandem held their remaining serves until they suffered the first blow in the seventh game
and trailed at 3-4. However, Lopez and Nadal quickly counter-attacked by reeling off the next three games in a row with two breaks of serve, ultimately claiming the opener with a 6-4 score line.
The Spaniards appeared rusty as they lost their serve in the opening game of the follow-up set. However, they remained focused and snatched their break back in the fourth game. The highly enthusiastic Spanish collaboration then held their composure and plucked
remaining serves without facing any breakpoint. Lopez and Nadal eventually got the breakthrough in the eighth game and pulled out the set with a 6-3 win.
Summing up the high flying duo’s performance, Nadal and Lopez outmuscled their rivals completely. They manipulated a better first serve share of 75 per cent as compared to their opponents’ 63 per cent and acceptably availed 28 out of 41 points on it. The
Spaniards failed to defend the only breakpoint they came across in each set but broke Dolgopolov and Malisse’s serve four times to steal the show. They spilled more errors but ended the match with 61 points in contrast with the Ukrainian/Belgian team’s 46.
Next up for the winners is the conqueror of the match between Juan Monaco/Kei Nishikori collaboration and the seventh seeds, Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek.
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