The match of the highest level was elucidated in two hours with 17 minutes on court No.12 of the “Billie Jean King” complex, where the US Open takes place, the last Grand Slam of the season.
“It is the first time that we have reversed a result in a Grand Slam tournament. We lost the first set, but we never gave up and although there is always a first time in everything, this victory motivates us to continue advancing”, Escobar said in an interview granted while still on the edge of the court.
“We took every match as a final battle, today we could have been eliminated, but we overcame and Ariel and I are confident that we can continue in the US Open”, added the Ecuadorian southpaw.
“When you play in a Grand Slam you don’t have to think about the ranking of your opponents or whether they have won more tournaments. You have to focus on playing your game and doing your best”, Escobar commented regarding the rivals they faced this Friday. Austin Krajicek is No. and Ivan Dodig is No. 17 of the ATP men’s doubles ranking.
The double Krajicek/Dodig has a long history in Grand Slam tournaments in which they have reached the final instances. Only this year it is worth noting, they played the final of the French Open where they fell to the couple made up of the Salvadoran Marcelo Arévalo and the Dutchman Jean-Julien Rojer.
That philosophy prevailed in the match. Escobar and Behar were not daunted by the best pedigree of their opponents and even less when they lost the first set 6-1. More more was the incentive for them to bring out their best version and extend the duel to the ‘tiebreak’ where they prevailed by vehemence and forcefulness.
It was a tight duel that could be decided in the second set in favor of Krajicek/Dodig, and always coming from below, they were able to level and reach the minimum necessary advantage . With the match tied, the third set was also played always defending the service. Escobar/Behar were again at a disadvantage and recovered the break to equalize and force the sudden death of the ´tiebreak´ again, where this time they were firmer, especially Escobar in the service.
A match memorable of the South American double that, with this third round at the US Open, adds two others in the same instance: Third round at the Australian Open and at Wimbledon, while at the French Open they only reached the second round this year.