Wednesday, July 22, 2009

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Mark makes semis in mixed doubles By KELSIE JOHNSON ~ NG Sports Reporter ~ kelsie@nasguard.com: Bahamian tennis professional player Mark Knowles is well on his way to capturing his first mixed doubles title of the year. Teaming up with Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany, the duo ousted Bob Bryan and Samantha Stosur, 0-6, 7-5 and 6-3 yesterday. Knowles and Groenefeld had to fight their way back after failing to win a game in the first set of a three-set match which lasted an hour and 25 minutes. The first set, played at the prestigious Wimbledon Tennis Championships, lasted just 19 minutes and saw the defending champions in the mixed doubles, Bryan and Stosur, play a near perfect game, but Knowles and Groenefeld recovered, pushing the American/Australian duo to the limit. Knowles and Groenefeld, who had committed two double faults and nine unforced errors in the second set, made up for their downfalls behind the service line with six aces. Overall, the team had nine service aces, six double faults and 21 unforced errors. The three-set win lines Knowles and Groenefeld up against Jamie Murray and Liezel Huber who advanced to the semi-finals with a walkover. The team was expected to play Lukas Dlouhy and Iveta Benesova. Knowles and Groenefeld's semi-final game will be played on Saturday. American Bob Bryan teamed up with his twin brother Mike Bryan earlier on the day to play in the semi-final match of the men's doubles division. The Bryans took on Moodie and Norman, who defeated Knowles and Bhupathi on Wednesday in a match which lasted more than three hours. The Bryans prevailed in their match and will play Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic in the final, set for Saturday. Friday, July 3, 2009