Hutchins and Kerr into Sydney semis
No.3 seeds blasted away
Ross Hutchins and Jordan Kerr are through to the semi-finals of the Medibank International after a thumping 7-6(3) 6-1 victory over No.3 seeds Lukasz Kubot and Olivier Marach.
With conditions again proving tricky in Sydney, the Brit-Aussie duo came through a first set that featured no breaks to take the breaker comfortably, before running away with the second set.
After one of the hottest days on record at the Olympic Tennis Park on their rest day, with temperatures touching 43C, Hutchins and Kerr returned to face cooler, blustery conditions, with rain interrupting many of the afternoon’s matches.
The first set was a cagey affair but it was the Anglo-Aussie pair who took the game to their opponents, who featured in last season’s ATP World Tour Finals.
Hutchins and Kerr saw two break points come and go but were rock solid on serve as the set lurched towards a tie-break.
There, however, the Pole-Austrian team could not prevent Ross and Jordan from finishing the job, and things got better for the duo early in the second set.
A pair of quickfire breaks took Hutchins and Kerr clear before Kubot and Marach got on the board, but the damage had been done.
A third break sealed the result, sending the Anglo-Aussie pair into the last four, where they will face Simon Aspelin and Paul Hanley, who beat Hutchins’ former partner Stephen Huss and Carsten Ball 3-6 7-6(5) 10-8.
WInning the longer rallies was crucial to the quarter-final victory, said Hutchins. “We also volleyed very well as a team today,” he added.
“We dug in deep during a very tough and closely fought first set, and having won a good tie-break we stayed positive to get the win.
The early season form looks promising, but Hutchins is keen not to get carried away.
“We can still definitely improve a few basic things like serve and return before the Open,” said the world No.52, who will return to the top 50 when the rankings are updated next Monday, “but were are feeling good.”
