By sportswriter Lincoln van der Westhuizen
BEIJING, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Both the men's and women's doubles finals saw the No. 2 seeds claim victory at the China Open on Sunday.
In the women's doubles final, the pair of Andrea Sestini Hlavackova and Barbora Strycova beat No. 3 seed Gabriela Dabrowski and Xu Yifan 4-6, 6-4, 10-8.
Both pairs contested a tight first set. Sestini Hlavackova/Strycova conceded two break points at 1-2 but were able to save both to make sure things remained even early on.
The No.3 seed finally lost serve in the final game of the set after being up 40-15 at 4-5. An unforced error handed the set to Dabrowski/Xu and it seemed as if a Chinese player would still be able to lift a title at this year's tournament.
However Sestini Hlavackova/Strycova broke serve immediately in the second set as Dabrowski/Xu made a number of unforced errors at the net. Sestini Hlavackova/Strycova managed to hold on to win the second set and force a super tie-break.
Remarkably little separated the pairs throughout the contest. Both pairs lost serve only once, both pairs had similar first serve percentages and both pairs won exactly 50 percent of the total points in the match.
The difference proved to be in the super tie-break, where Sestini Hlavackova/Strycova collected five points on their opponents' serve but Dabrowski/Xu could only collect four.
Dabrowski/Xu lost concentration at 8-8, losing two consecutive serves. On match point, Sestini Hlavackova/Strycova managed to draw their opponents into the net, and a precise lob shot handed the No.2 seed the title.
The men's doubles final was a one-sided affair as the No. 2 seed Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo were able to see off the No. 1 seed Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic 6-1, 6-4.
Kubot/Melo raced out to a 4-0 lead, breaking their opponents' serve twice in the process. Kubot/Melo served well, not conceding a break point opportunity in the entire set.
The first set was wrapped up in 23 minutes as Marach/Pavic were not given an opportunity to find any momentum. In the second set, the No. 1 seed started to settle into a rhythm and were able to gain a foothold in the match.
This proved to be short lived as Kubot/Melo broke through at 3-3 to open up the set, and put themselves in a strong position to serve for the match. Melo held to love in the final game of the match, for a result that was never really in doubt.
