Matthew Ebden/Jarkko Nieminen into the final; Ebelthite/Matosevic depart – Sydney International 2012
Wildcard combination of Matthew Ebden of Australia and Jarkko Nieminen of Finland carried on its amazing run at the Apia International Sydney, outplaying the local wildcard duo of Colin Ebelthite and Marinko Matosevic in the semi-final
clash on Friday. Ebden and Nieminen needed just 66 minutes of play to overcome their opponents in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6(4), to book a place in the final of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 event.
Being played on the hard courts of the NSW Tennis Centre, the contest proved to be a fairly one-sided battle, with Ebden and Nieminen dominating for most of the time. They cruised through the opening set with the utmost ease but
had to manoeuvre their way through the second one to claim a much needed victory in the end.
The Australian competitors appeared rusty all the way and failed to cash in the opportunities being presented by their opponents in the game. Ebelthite and Matosevic had a total of six break chances in the match but they carelessly
frittered away all of them to remain at a disadvantage throughout the competition. The Aussies coughed a number of unforced errors, with most of their shots ending long and wide of the court in the opening set. Ebden and Nieminen, on the other hand, kept winning
crucial points on regularity to sustain their winning momentum in the match and eventually finished it off in grand style.
Ebelthite and Matosevic held their serve in the opening game before they suffered their first blow in the fourth game, with their aggressive opponents striking the only break point of the entire match. Ebden and Nieminen held their
lead in the remaining games of the set and were further assisted by the error-ridden game play of the Australian opponents to close out the opening set at 6-3.
A more competitive following set was witnessed, with Ebelthite and Matosevic putting tight control over their sloppy shot making. They further squandered away three break opportunities in the second but no let their opponent to
strike either. A tie-breaker round came into play and Ebden and Nieminen prevailed the decider to wrap up victory at 7-6(4).
Ebden and Nieminen will take on the world number one American duo of Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan in the final of the Apia International Sydney. The Bryan Brothers were successful against the British pair of Colin Fleming and Ross
Hutchins in the semi-finals to earn a title shot.
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