 |
|
|
|
Semifinal jinx continues for Moodie
The semifinal jinx continued for top South African doubles player Wesley Moodie at the Allianz Swiss Open in Gstaad on Friday when he was beaten 7-5 4-6 10-8 with Belgian partner Dick Norman against the scratch Scandanavian pairing Jarrko Nieminen and Johan Brunstrom.
Although invariably qualifying for the later stages of ATP tournaments, it has been a frustrating year for the 6ft 5in Moodie and 6ft 8in Norman, who reached the semifinals of both the French Open and Wimbledon grand slam events, but have yet to add to their title successes this year.
Ironically, in the see-sawing, 1hr 50min match against Nieminen and Brunstrom, the big-serving Moodie-Norman combination won two more points than their opponents overall, but were shaded at the death in the tense, 10-point tiebreker.
In the process of Moodie's spate of near-misses this year, his world ranking has slipped from eighth in the world to 23rd, but he remains South Africa's key doubles player for the crucial Davis Cup World Group play-off against Germany in September.
"We're not worried about Wesley's form," said South African Tennis Associaition CEO Ian Smith, "He remains a world-class doubles exponent and reaching two grand slam semifinals is testimony of the fact - even though winning a title has eluded him this year."
