Melo/ Soares, Erlich/ Hanley reach the quarterfinals of Open de Nice Côte d’Azur
Marcelo Melo/ Bruno Soares beat Denis Istomin/ Rogier Wassen 6-7(5), 6-3, 10-5
Brazilian team of Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares ousted Uzbek/Dutch pair of Denis Istomin and Rogier Wassen in three sets 6-7(5), 6-3, 10-5 in the opening round at the Open de Nice Côte d’Azur in Nice on Tuesday. The match lasted
for an hour and 34 minutes.
In the first set, both pairs broke each other thrice in the first 12 games and levelled the score at 6-6, forcing a tie-break. Istomin and Wassen claimed a single mini-break in the tie-break, bagging it 7-5.
The Uzbek/Dutch team delivered three aces and 76 percent of the first serves in the opening set, winning 61 percent of the points on them. Istomin and Wassen converted all the three break points they received but could not save
three of the nine break points on their own serve in the first set.
After losing a tough opening set, the top seeded pair of Melo and Soares thrashed their opponents in the second set, breaking them twice and winning the set 6-3.
The Brazilian pair hit a single ace and 83 percent of the first serves in the second set. Melo and Soares won 74 percent of the first service points in the second set. The 12th ranked pair won both break points they
received and saved the only break point they faced in the second set.
Melo and Soares dominated the match tie-break from the start and claimed three mini-breaks to win it 10-5.
The Brazilian pair will take on German/American duo of Dustin Brown and Travis Rottenmaier in the quarterfinals.
Jonathan Erlich/ Paul Hanley defeat Franco Ferreiro/ Andre Sa 7-6(5) 6-4
Jonathan Erlich and Paul Hanley of Israel prevailed over Franco Ferreiro and Andre Sa of Brazil in straight sets 7-6(5), 6-4 to proceed to the second round. Erlich and Hanley took an hour and 31 minutes to undo their opponents
in an evenly contested match.
Both teams exchanged a single break of serve in the first set, taking it to a tie-break. The Israeli duo needed a single mini-break in the tie-break to win it 7-5.
They fired four aces and 53 percent of the first serves in the opening set. Erlich and Hanley capitalized on one of the two break points and saved three of the four break points they faced in the first set.
The Israeli pair carried the winning momentum into the second set and broke their opponents in the fifth game, clinching it 6-4.
The unseeded duo kept their first serve percentage at 56 percent and grabbed 79 percent of the points on the first serve in the second set.
Erlich and Hanley will meet Eric Butorac and Jean-Julien Rojer in the quarterfinals. Butorac and Rojer defeated British/Austrian pair of Jamie Murray and Alexandr Peya in straight sets 6-2, 6-1 in the first round.
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