Czechs Keep Semifinal Hopes Alive
© Getty Images Czech duo Lukas Dlouhy and Pavel Vizner produced a near-perfect match tie-break to defeat Frenchmen Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra 3-6, 6-3, 10-5 (Match TB) to keep alive their Tennis Masters Cup hopes in Shanghai on Wednesday.
Dlouhy was particularly explosive in the deciding match tie-break, creating a number of mini breaks with exceptional play from the baseline, including a blistering forehand return off Llodra's first serve that split the Frenchmen up the middle, which put the Czechs ahead 7-1. Vizner then chipped and charged off Llodra's next service point and angled a winning forehand volley past the incoming left-hander to give the Czechs an unassailable 8-1 lead.
"We were pumped up and ready for the tie-breaker and everything went right for us," Vizner said. "And that really was the key to how we approached the entire match. In our first match we went in just wanting to play solid tennis, but we were too defensive. Today we went in trying to be aggressive, and that made the difference."
The Czechs are now 1-1 after two matches, but will have a strong claim to a semifinal berth if they can beat Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor in their final round-robin match. But Dlouhy is not looking beyond the next match. "We're not thinking about the semis yet. We still have one more match to go. If we win that match we can start to think about the semis, but not right now."
Dlouhy and Vizner reached the Roland Garros and US Open finals this year, but won just one title - Costa do Sauipe in February. There is almost 13 years in age separating the partners. Dlouhy is 24 and Vizner is 37.
Playing their final tournament together, Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor took another step towards the semifinals with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Simon Aspelin and Julian Knowle. The turning point of the match came in the second set at 5-5 30/30, when Knowle missed an overhead to hand two break points to Knowles and Nestor, who converted their second chance.
Knowles and Nestor, who won this year's Roland Garros title, began playing with other partners after the US Open but have reunited for Tennis Masters Cup. With the withdrawal of the Bryan brothers due to injury, Knowles and Nestor are the top seeds at the event.
Despite being 2-0 in round-robin play Knowles and Nestor still are not guaranteed a semifinal place. They play Czech duo Lukas Dlouhy and Pavel Vizner in their final group match Friday.
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