NEW YORK: Indian tennis ace Leander Paes kept himself in line of two Grand Slam titles after entering the final of the men's doubles event of the US Open following an upset win over top seeds and local favourites Mike and Bob Bryan on Wednesday.
Third seeds Mahesh Bhupathi and Bahamian Mark Knowles also coasted to an easy straight set win over fifth-seed Belarussian-Israeli duo of Max Mirnyi and Andy Ram to enter the finals of US Open men’s doubles.
The Indo-Bahamian pair got the better of Belarussian-Israeli duo 6-4, 6-2 to set up title clash with fourth-seed India's Leander Paes and Czech Lukas Dlouhy.
Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi will now fight it out for the US Open men's doubles title. Paes and his partner Cara Black have already reached the final of the mixed doubles event.
Paes and his Czech partner Lukas Dlouhy, seeded fourth, overwhelmed the Bryan brothers 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (8-6) in one hour and 51 minutes in the semi-final at the Flushing Meadows.
The match had a sensational climax as Paes and Dlouhy had plenty of match points in the tie-breaker of the third and final set but Bryan brothers made a spirited comeback and saved five match points.
However, Paes and Dlouhy held their nerves and finally converted their sixth match point to clinch the issue.
It was Bryan brothers who got the first chance of a break but Paes and Dlouhy not only saved them but also converted the opportunities that came their way in the opening set.
The first set was tied 2-2 when on Paes' serve, the Americans earned two break points but the Indo-Czech combination played well to ward off the threat and held their serve.
In the next game, Paes and Dlouhy converted their second break point chance as Mike made a forehand error. Dlouhy served out the next game at love to take a 5-3 lead.
The next two games went with serve and the fourth seeds comfortably took the set to go one up.
The second set started on an ominous note for Paes and Dlouhy but they could not convert the early chance.
Dlouhy misfired an overhead volley to hand their rivals a break in the fourth game and it was enough for the Bryan brothers to claw their way back into the match.
Mike held his serve in the next game to consolidate the lead, making it 4-1. The next four games went with serve and the Americans stretched the match to the decisive third set.
The final set began with a marathon 16-point game but Dlouhy managed to hold serve after five deuces and in the process saved two break points.
The next chance of service break came in the seventh game when Paes and Dlouhy were down 0-40 on the serve of the Indian. The fourth seeds held their nerves and saved four break points in that game, making it a brilliant contest.
Bob served the 10th game to save the match and Paes hit a stunning backhand winner to earn their first match point. Bob served extremely well and made it 5-5.
No pair was willing to concede even an inch and it all boiled down to the tie-breaker.
It was a dream tie-breaker for Paes and Dlouhy as they created a 5-0 lead but Bryan brothers played exceptional tennis and saved four match points to make it 6-6.
The partisan crowd cheered for the American duo but Paes hit a backhand volley between the brothers to seal a final berth.
Third seeds Mahesh Bhupathi and Bahamian Mark Knowles also coasted to an easy straight set win over fifth-seed Belarussian-Israeli duo of Max Mirnyi and Andy Ram to enter the finals of US Open men’s doubles.
The Indo-Bahamian pair got the better of Belarussian-Israeli duo 6-4, 6-2 to set up title clash with fourth-seed India's Leander Paes and Czech Lukas Dlouhy.
Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi will now fight it out for the US Open men's doubles title. Paes and his partner Cara Black have already reached the final of the mixed doubles event.
Paes and his Czech partner Lukas Dlouhy, seeded fourth, overwhelmed the Bryan brothers 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (8-6) in one hour and 51 minutes in the semi-final at the Flushing Meadows.
The match had a sensational climax as Paes and Dlouhy had plenty of match points in the tie-breaker of the third and final set but Bryan brothers made a spirited comeback and saved five match points.
However, Paes and Dlouhy held their nerves and finally converted their sixth match point to clinch the issue.
It was Bryan brothers who got the first chance of a break but Paes and Dlouhy not only saved them but also converted the opportunities that came their way in the opening set.
The first set was tied 2-2 when on Paes' serve, the Americans earned two break points but the Indo-Czech combination played well to ward off the threat and held their serve.
In the next game, Paes and Dlouhy converted their second break point chance as Mike made a forehand error. Dlouhy served out the next game at love to take a 5-3 lead.
The next two games went with serve and the fourth seeds comfortably took the set to go one up.
The second set started on an ominous note for Paes and Dlouhy but they could not convert the early chance.
Dlouhy misfired an overhead volley to hand their rivals a break in the fourth game and it was enough for the Bryan brothers to claw their way back into the match.
Mike held his serve in the next game to consolidate the lead, making it 4-1. The next four games went with serve and the Americans stretched the match to the decisive third set.
The final set began with a marathon 16-point game but Dlouhy managed to hold serve after five deuces and in the process saved two break points.
The next chance of service break came in the seventh game when Paes and Dlouhy were down 0-40 on the serve of the Indian. The fourth seeds held their nerves and saved four break points in that game, making it a brilliant contest.
Bob served the 10th game to save the match and Paes hit a stunning backhand winner to earn their first match point. Bob served extremely well and made it 5-5.
No pair was willing to concede even an inch and it all boiled down to the tie-breaker.
It was a dream tie-breaker for Paes and Dlouhy as they created a 5-0 lead but Bryan brothers played exceptional tennis and saved four match points to make it 6-6.
The partisan crowd cheered for the American duo but Paes hit a backhand volley between the brothers to seal a final berth.
TOI
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