Bryan Brothers Ease into Semifinals
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Defending champions Bob and Mike Bryan (pictured) eased into their fifth semifinal at Masters Series Hamburg with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over No. 6 seeds Martin Damm and Pavel Vizner.

The top seeds converted four of 11 break points and won 10 points more than their opponents as they secured the victory in 1hr., 23min.

The Americans now improve to 15-6 in Hamburg. They captured the title for the first time last year (d. Hanley/Ullyett) and finished runners-up to Black/Ullyett in 2004. In the semifinals they will face either Blake/Fish or Benneteau/Llodra.

Currently No. 1 in the Stanford ATP Doubles Race, the 30-year-old Bryan twins are chasing their third consecutive ATP clay court title, having won in Barcelona and ATP Masters Series Rome in the past two weeks. They also captured the Sony Ericsson Open title earlier in the season, and finished as runners-up at four other events.

In the semifinals, the Bryans will face compatriots James Blake and Mardy Fish, who advanced with a tight 7-6(6), 7-6(5) victory over Frenchmen Julian Benneteau and Michael Llodra.

Blake and Fish, who upset No. 4 seeds Bhupathi/Knowles in the previous round, are through to their first ATP semifinal since Houston two years ago (l. to Knowle/Melzer). The pair are enjoying their best run in Hamburg, having lost in the quarterfinals on their team debut last year.

Second seeds Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic resisted a brave challenge from German wild card duo Rainer Schuettler and Alexander Waske to advance to the quarterfinals with a 6-2, 6-7(7), 10-3 victory.

This year’s Rome and Indian Wells finalists are bidding for their first title of the season. World No. 4 Nestor is a two-time former champion in Hamburg, having won in 1996 and 2003 with former partner Mark Knowles, while No. 11 Zimonjic’s best showing has been two semifinal finishes in 2005 (w/ Paes) and 2006 (w/ Santoro).

Rookie pairing Ivan Ljubicic and Robin Soderling advanced to a quarterfinal meeting with Leander Paes and Tommy Robredo after dismissing eighth seeds Paul Hanley and Wesley Moodie 6-4, 6-2. Ljubicic is a former semifinalist in Hamburg, falling to Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi in 2005 with partner Mario Ancic while Soderling lost on his debut appearance with Phillip Kohlschreiber last year.

Watch the ATP Masters Series TV free live stream of the Hamburg doubles final on Sunday, May 18th, following the 12:00pm (CEST) BlackRock Tour of Champions final
Note: Web stream will not be available in the U.S.A. as the doubles final will be shown on Tennis Channel

Wednesday: Bryans, Aspelin/Knowle Reach Quarterfinals
Tuesday: Fish/Blake Upset Bhupathi/Knowles
Monday: Paes/Robredo Win in Partnership Debut
Sunday: Bryans Triumph in Rome Final