Hutchins & Kerr through to Sydney final
Top seeds await after gutsy performance…
Ross Hutchins and Jordan Kerr are through to the final of the Medibank International after a 7-5 6-3 win over Simon Aspelin and Paul Hanley.
The Brit-Aussie duo, playing just their sixth tournament together, produced a gutsy performance to fend off the Aussie-Swedish team and were rewarded with a shot at the top seeds and world No.2 pair Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic in tomorrow’s final.
Facing a tough returning team on Sydney’s Olympic Tennis Park centre court, Hutchins and Kerr rode their luck at times as they continued to play the attacking tennis that had already seen them dispatch the No.3 seeds in the previous round.
Aspelin and Hanley carved out a glut of chances – 13 break points in all – but were reduced to only a single break in the entire match, while in contrast Hutchins and Kerr broke twice in the first set.
At the start of the second, Hanley and Aspelin brought up four break points in the first game, but saw them all come and go. “That took a lot out of them,” said Hutchins. “We grew in confidence and kept our noses in front.”
The Anglo-Aussie duo survived another four break points later in the set, and when the chance came to grab a break themselves they grabbed it, sealing victory in just over 90 minutes.
Hutchins was thrilled with the result and the prospect of tomorrow’s final, but thoughts are already turning to matters in Melbourne.
“It’s very important to do well at tournaments like this one but the Australian Open is always at the back of your mind,” he said. “Every tennis player wants to do well at the Grand Slams.
“It would be fantastic if we could get a win tomorrow and then take that form and that positive mindset into the Australian Open.”
Rather than being fazed by the prospect of facing the former world No.1 pair in Saturday’s final, Hutchins believes it is just the kind of test he and Kerr need before making the journey south.
“Even if we don’t win we’ve had a great week and it’s the ideal preparation for Melbourne,” he admitted. “We’ve played the same attacking positive way all week and will continue with that same mentality tomorrow!”
