Tuesday, December 1, 2009
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Knowles and Bhupathi lose in London By SHELDON LONGLEY ~ NG Sports Editor ~ slongley@nasguard.com:
Playing his last match with Indian partner Mahesh Bhupathi, Mark Knowles was hoping that the men's doubles team could go out with a bang, but it was not to be as they fell to the American identical twins, Mike and Bob Bryan, in the semi-finals of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals on Saturday.
Seeded third, Knowles and Bhupathi lost to the second seeded American brothers in straight sets, 6-4 and 6-4 at the O2 Arena in London, England.
Statistically, the match was pretty much even, but the Bryans broke service three times in the match while Knowles and Bhupathi broke service only once.
They also had three double faults compared to none for the Bryans. Mike and Bob Bryan won 58 of the 102 total points, and then went on to win the final on Sunday for the third time in their career. They also claimed the year-end No. 1 Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Doubles Team Ranking for the fifth time together as a team. They finished as ATP World Tour Doubles Champions in 2003, and three straight years from 2005-2007. As for Knowles and Bhupathi, going into Saturday's semi-finals, Knowles said on the tournament's website that as a team, they were very confident. "We're really excited about the way we're playing. We've got a lot of confidence and we're looking forward to our match on Saturday," he said on Friday. However, the Bryans executed in both sets and came out with the win. Not only did the loss end Knowles and Bhupathi's season, but it also signaled the end of their brief two-year partnership. In their final match together, Knowles and Bhupathi got out to a fast start as they broke serve in the opening game, sealing the break with a backhand volley from Bhupathi. However, the Bryans got right back in the match with strong returning. They won 10 return points in the first set compared to just six for Knowles and Bhupathi. Knowles double-faulted at the end of the fourth game of the opening set, and the Bryans broke back to even the set. They later clinched the first set when a forehand from Bob Bryan hit the top of the net and landed just inside the baseline in the 10th game, thereby breaking Knowles and Bhupathi for the second time in the set. Just like the first set, the second set was intense and tightly contested until the Bryans finally got the break they needed. Neither team was able to break the other until the 10th game. In that game, a pin-point volley from Mike Bryan earned them three match points. They put the match away on their second match point, as Knowles and Bhupathi were forced into an error. The match ended in just an hour and four minutes. Knowles will now return to The Bahamas for his celebrity invitational which is set for this weekend at the National Tennis Centre. The 9th Annual Mark Knowles Celebrity Tennis Invitational will underway on Thursday with a welcome reception and will run through Saturday. It will include a pro-am event that Friday and exhibition matches, where the celebrities will showcase their talents, that Saturday. The exhibition matches will start at 3:00 p.m. and they are open to the public. A kids clinic is also expected to take place on Saturday.
Monday, November 30, 2009 |
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