| Friday, 4 July 2008 Written by Ian Baker There will be at least one American man in a final at Wimbledon this year after Mike Bryan and his Slovenian partner Katarina Srebotnik beat surprise Russian package Igor Andreev and Maria Kirilenko 6-4, 6-2 in the semi-finals of the mixed doubles. Bryan and twin brother Bob had been defeated in the men’s doubles semi-final on Thursday by Jonas Bjorkman and Kevin Ullyett. But on July 4, Independence Day, he picked the ideal opportunity to boost American spirits. Andreev and Kirilenko were knocked out in the men’s singles second round and women’s singles first round respectively. And few would have expected to see them competing well into the second week, however fine wins over Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza and Pavel Vizner and Kveta Peschke had propelled them to the semis. Initially the Russians were not fazed as Andreev served to love with two aces in the opening game. But after Bryan had held, Srebotnik attacked the Kirilenko serve to break and the No 1 seeds never looked back. Bryan’s form at the net and some great passing shots from Srebotnik allowed them to see out the set, 6-4. Andreev had treatment on an arm injury and with the 24-year-old clearly not fully fit, Bryan and Srebotnik took full advantage. Kirilenko was broken at 1-1 as her drive went out via a net cord on break point. Srebotnik then held before Andreev, who had served well early on, finally saw his serve broken. Kirilenko did well to hold at 1-5 but that only delayed the inevitable. A fine volley by Bryan on his partner’s serve at match point completed a straight forward victory. Bryan and Srebotnik have won mixed doubles titles with other partners at other Grand Slams and will fancy their chances of winning a title together against Mike's brother Bob and partner Sam Stosur or Jamie Murray and Liezel Huber in the final, scheduled for Sunday.
| Court 1 - Mixed Doubles - Semifinals | |
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