North Palmyra Trophies
Potapova and Shevchenko lost their first doubles match
The Sphinxes pulled ahead again. ‘Lions’ Anastasia Potapova and Alexander Shevchenko in mixed doubles, concluding the day lost to Yulia Putintseva and Roberto Bautista Agut – 6/4, 6/7 (1-7), 1-10.

«I'm afraid of the pressure; I'm not great in doubles. I don't really want to go back to the hotel and talk about my mistakes», said Alexander Shevchenko about the prospects of playing mixed doubles with now-wife Anastasia Potapova.

On Saturday at the North Palmyra Trophies Potapova and Shevchenko played their first match together. They started well – in the very first game, they broke Roberto Bautista Agut's serve. The advantage they gained at the start was enough for the Russian duo to close the first set in their favor - 6/4 in 34 minutes.

In the second set, both pairs lost their serves twice, and the set smoothly transitioned to a tie-break. There, Bautista Agut and Putintseva did not give their opponents a chance - 7-1. The deciding tie-break unfolded similarly.

Yulia and Roberto took a 7-1 lead, and Anastasia with Alexander couldn't catch up. The Spaniard played well towards the end of the match, acting effectively at the net and finding openings between the inexperienced mixed doubles opponents. As a result, the Sphinxes celebrated victory. The team of Anastasia Myskina and Nikolay Davydenko, after two days of the tournament, is up 4-3.

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