Brown into doubles final at Belgrade
THE unseeded pair of Jamaican Dustin Brown and Austrian partner Martin Slanar booked their spot in the doubles finals of the Gemax Open in Belgrade, Serbia, after a gruelling yet stunning semi-final victory yesterday.
Brown, ranked 131st in singles and 245th in doubles, and Slanar, listed at 268th in doubles and 685th in singles, battled past the fourth-seed pair of Prakash Amritraj of India and James Cerretani of the USA to prevail, 6-2, 3-6, 10-7.
In a match lasting one hour and four minutes, Brown and Slanar swept the first set as they broke their more fancied opponents twice.
But Amritraj and Cerretani, ranked 143rd and 89th in the world, respectively, in doubles, fought back well, saving three break points while breaking Brown and Slanar twice to take the second set and force a decider.
However, the Jamaican and the Austrian duo saved their best for last, serving at an impressive 100 per cent on first serve and 75 per cent on second for a deserved win.
It’s the first time both players have reached the final of an ATP Challenge tournament.
As for Brown, it was redemption after he was knocked out of the singles in the first round on Monday by the unseeded but experienced Dominik Hrbaty.
Brown and Slanar now await the other semi-final winner between Croatian duo Mario Ani and Lovro Zovko, and Llija Bozoljac also of Croatia and Briton Jamie Delgado.
The champions will receive 6,600 euros as well as gained 125 ranking points.