Mahesh Bhupathi/Leander Paes through to the finals of Sony Ericsson Open
The Indian Express Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes battled past the Austrian/Serbian pair of Oliver Marach and Janko Tipsarevic in three sets 6-3, 5-7, 11-9 in the doubles semi-finals at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami on Thursday.
The Indians took one hour and 33 minutes to oust their opponents.
Bhupathi and Paes needed a single break of serve in the first set, winning it 6-3. The Indians hit a single ace and 73 per cent of the first serves in the opening set. They won 84 per cent of the points on the first serve. Bhupathi
and Paes converted one of the three break points they received in the opening set though they did not face any break point in the first set.
Both pairs exchanged a break of serve in the first ten games of the second set to level the score at 5-5. Marach and Tipsarevic broke their opponents in the twelfth game, winning the second set 7-5.
The Austrian/Serbian pair delivered 3 aces and won 76 per cent of the points on the first serve in the second set. On the other hand, Bhupathi and Paes fired in a single ace and 57 per cent of the first serves. The Indian duo saved
two of the four break points they faced in the set. While, Marach and Tipsarevic saved three of the four break points in the second set.
In the match tie-break, Bhupathi and Paes claimed a late mini-break to win it 11-9. The Indians delivered 70 per cent of the first serves, converting 86 per cent of them into points in the match tie-break. In comparison, March
and Tipsarevic kept their first serve percentage at 60 per cent and won 83 per cent of the points on first serve.
Bhupathi and Paes are looking in a great form at the Sony Ericsson Open. On the course to the semi-finals, the Indian duo prevailed over French/Serbian pair of Michael Llodra and Nenad Zimonjic in three sets 6-3, 6-7(4), 10-7 in
the quarterfinals. They ousted Marc Lopez and David Marrero of Spain 7-6(5), 6-4 in the second round. In the opening round, Bhupathi and Paes thrashed Eric Butorac and Jean-Julien Rojer in straight sets 6-2, 6-3.
The Indian duo will meet second seed Belarusian/Canadian pair of Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor in the final. Mirnyi and Nestor beat Austrian/German combination of Jurgen Melzer and Philipp Petzschner in straight sets 6-4, 6-1 in
the semi-finals.
Commenting on the match against Mirnyi and Nestor, Paes said, “I just want to keep having fun, enjoy myself out there. We’ve had some good results this year, so if we keep playing like we have been all year, we should be fine.”
Tags: