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Cape Town - South Africa have stolen a march on Bulgaria following their 6-3 6-2 doubles win in the Europe/Africa Group II first-round tie at Kelvin Grove Club, Newlands, on Saturday.
The South African pairing Raven Klaasen and Ruan Roelofse started steadily against Alexander Donski and Alexandar Lazarov, who was a late change for Gabriel Donev. Lazarov's inclusion was meant to provide a boost since his world doubles ranking stands at 502 as against Donev's 994.
In the first set, Klaasen and Roelofse secured back to back breaks in the 7th and 9th games. Sandwiched in between this fine feat, they saw off two breaks of serve in the 8th and the set was done and dusted after 32 mins.
The score went with serve in the second set until the 4th game when Bulgaria dropped and the breakthrough gave SA a 3-1 lead.
The SA pair held their ground over the next few games and dealt the killer blow in the 8th game to wrap up the set 6-2 after only 29 minutes.
The 6-3 6-2 doubles win will bolster confidence in the SA camp ahead of the reverse singles rubbers later in the day.
- Tennis SA
