Peya/Soares oust Marrero/Verdasco to capture title – Valencia Open 2012
Second seeds, Austria’s Alexander Peya and Brazil’s Bruno Soares, outshined the local contenders, David Marrero and Fernando Verdasco, in straight sets at the Valencia Open 2012 on Sunday. They nudged up a 6-3, 6-2 victory against the Spanish duo to capture
the crown at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 500 Series event held in Valencia, Spain.
The Austrian-Brazilian junction showed exceptional skills to triumph over Marrero and Verdasco in their first encounter. After stealing the limelight in one hour and four minutes, Peya and Soares lifted their third year-to-date title and improved to an 18-4
win-loss record this circuit.
Peya was quoted in a press conference after bagging the title:
'It feels great. Every title feels great. We played four very, very good matches here and didn’t drop a set. I think we deserved to win this week. I really do."
The Brazilian commented further, "It was another really good week. We improved a little bit more in Tokyo, after Kuala Lumpur, and this week even more. It is a good feeling to know we are becoming a better team every week. We didn’t drop a set here and it
feels good."
Peya and Soares made a convincing entry at the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències. They unveiled their true colours right after entering and eventually reeled off the opening four games. Regardless of losing their serve in the eighth game, the Austrian-Brazilian
tandem broke their rivals’ serve again in the east game and clinched the opener with a 6-3 score line. They failed to ward off the lone breakpoint they came across and converted three out of four break chances to their advantage.
Ranked 14th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Doubles Rankings, Peya and Soares kept momentum running towards the following set. They got the coveted break in the fourth game and leaped to a 4-1 lead. The Austrian-Brazilian pair held
their remaining serves with poise and cashed another break chance in the last game, ultimately sealing the set by winning six games to two. They successfully defended the lone breakpoint they faced and cashed both break chances to earn the glory.
Overall, Peya and Soares spilled more double faults but impressively marked 27 out of 35 points on their better first serve share of 78 per cent.
As a result, the winning tandem picked up €101,280in prize money and bagged 500 South African Airways ATP Doubles Team Rankings points.
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