Paes/Stepanek outshine Marrero/Verdasco in the quarterfinal – Sony Ericsson Open 2012
Indian-Czech duo of Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek booked their place in the last four, after overcoming Spaniards, David Marrero and Fernando Verdasco, in straight sets 7-6(6), 6-4 in the quarterfinals at the Sony Ericsson Open
in Miami on Wednesday. The seventh seeds required an hour and 27 minutes to beat the single specialists.
Paes is a two times defending champion at this event. He partnered his countryman, Mahesh Bhupathi, to claim the title last year. The veteran lifted the trophy with Lukas Dlouhy of Czech Republic in 2010.
The Indian-Czech team grabbed the initial breakthrough and capitalised on it to grab a 4-1 lead. However, Marrero and Verdasco bounced back, snatching next three games to equalise the score at 4-4. Neither of the two teams was
able to strike after that, taking the score to 6-6 and forcing a tie-breaker. Paes and Stepanek managed to pass the test in the end, claiming it 8-6.
There was little to separate Paes/Stepanek and Marrero/Verdasco. Both pairs pounded three aces and committed a single double fault. They pocketed four of the nine second return points. The Indian-Czech duo and Spaniards failed
to save the one break point they faced in the opener.
Paes and Stepanek struck in the third game of the second set and won their next serve, attaining a 3-1 lead. The Indian-Czech combination maintained their lead till the end, closing it 6-4.
In a similar fashion to the first set, Marrero and Verdasco were at par with their opponents in most of the statistics. Interestingly, both teams won four of the eight second serve and return points. The Spaniards fired three aces
and 69 percent of the first deliveries compared to two and 71 by their opponents. The difference between these two teams was that Paes and Stepanek put away both break threats but Marrero and Verdasco failed to do the same on one occasion.
With this win, Paes and Stepanek improved their team win/loss record to 12-2 in this season.
The Indian-Czech duo will take one world number one doubles team, Bob and Mike Bryan, in the semi-finals. Both teams have reached the last four without dropping a single set.
The twins thrashed Daniele Bracciali and Juan Sebastian Cabal in straight sets 6-3, 6-1 in the quarterfinals.
This will be a replay of the Australian Open final, where Paes and Stepanek stunned the best doubles team in the history of the sport to clinch the title.
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