Almost two hours of play to beat Goransson-Verbeek with a score of 2-6 6-3 6-4. Simone looking for an encore after the 2015 triumph. The Azzurri will challenge whoever wins the other semi-final between Krawietz-Puetz and Heliovaara-Patten
The night turns blue, with Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori in the final for the second consecutive year in the doubles tournament at the Australian Open. The Italian couple, seeded number 3, beat Goransson/Verbeek in three sets in the semi-final (2-6 6-3 6-4 in one hour and 52 minutes), with a great comeback that after the first set did not seem possible.
bolelli-vavassori below
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Yes, because the pair formed by the Swede and the Dutchman started off very strong, deadly especially in response, with an impressive succession of winning backhands that initially stunned Bolelli and Vavassori, unable to find a countermeasure to that bombardment. The 6-2 in the first set is the consequence of all this, a partial where frankly there was no story. After all, both Goransson and Verbeek had already demonstrated during the tournament that they were in very good form, given that in the quarter-finals they had achieved the feat of beating the number one seeds, Arevalo and Pavic.
gear change
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However, everything changes in the second set, and quickly too. Andrea Vavassori takes center stage, Bolelli returns relentlessly with his forehand and invents a couple of deadly backhand returns, thanks to the inevitable decline of his opponents, brekkano immediately at 1-0 to maintain the advantage until the end of the set without allowing any opportunity for a counter-break. We go to the third, Goransson and Verbeek are now in constant difficulty with the serve (with two incredible foot faults, one of which is quite heavy), and at 1-1 Bolelli and Vavassori snatch the serve from their opponents. It’s not over yet, there is a break point against the Azzurri at 4-3 but it is saved, and then at 5-4 with Bolelli serving the number 3 seeded pair closes the match.
bolelli, encore of 2015?
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For Simone it is the third final in Melbourne after the victory with Fognini in 2015, now he will try to do an encore. The other semi-final to decide the Italians’ opponents will however feature a difficult couple to face: both Krawietz/Puetz (seeded number 4) and Heliovaara/Patten (seeded number 6) are true specialists, especially on this surface.
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