Muller/Rochus overpower Ball/Huey in the opening round – SAP Open 2012
Luxembourgian-Belgian tandem, Gilles Muller and Olivier Rochus, stayed focused throughout the match to stomp over the Aussie-Filipino team of Carsten Ball and Treat Conrad Huey at the SAP Open 2012 on Wednesday. They scared off late resistance to register
a 6-4, 7-6(3) success against their opponents, subsequently advancing into the quarter-finals at this hard court tournament held in San Jose, United States.
The Luxembourgian-Belgian combination took down their opponents with a single break of serve in their first meeting. They required an hour and 14-minutes to not only gain the spotlight but also secure a spot in the final eight at the HP Pavilion.
Muller and Rochus showed their true colours in the start of the opening set at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 series event. They drew the first blood in the third game and subsequently took a 3-1 lead. Later, the beaming pair
held their serves without facing any barrier and bagged the opener by winning six games to four.
The Aussie-Filipino duo on the other hand showed some resistance in the following set. They clobbered six break opportunities but spilled five double faults, ultiamtley draining their efforts.
The winning team took full advantage of this and despite squandering their only break opportunity, Muller and Rochus dominated in the tie-breaker to clinch the set with a 7-6(3) score line.
Overall, the delighted team of Muller and Rochus clobbered a better first serve share of 72 percent as compared to their rivals’ 60 percent and amazingly clicked 38 out of 47 points on it.
Next up for the winners is the top seeded team of Christopher Kas and Santiago Gonzalez who edged past the Bulgarian-American pair of Grigor Dimitrov and John Paul Fruttero in two sets’ tie-breaker to secure this spot.
In the only quarter-final match that took place earlier that day, Kevin Anderson and Frank Moser upset the third seeded duo, Paul Hanley and Jamie Murray, with a breadstick to reach the final four. The South African-German junction held their entire serves
with conviction and broke their rivals’ serve three times to seal the deal with a 6-1, 6-4 victory in just under an hour.
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