Paes/Stepanek down Bhupathi/Bopanna to grab title – Shanghai Rolex Masters 2012
Indian legend, Leander Paes, took revenge from his countrymen, Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna, as he partnered Radek Stepanek to beat them in the Shanghai Rolex Masters final on Sunday.
Paes and Stepanek fought back after dropping the opener and clinched two back to back sets to win 6-7(7), 6-3, 10-5 in an hour and 36 minutes.
Both Bhupathi and Bopanna had refused to pair up with Paes at the London Olympics, saying that they would only play if partnered together. Paes was the highest ranked player among these three but was forced to partner with junior
player, Vishnu Vardhan.
Seeded fourth in the draw, the Indian-Czech tandem did not make a good start, as they lost opening three games to trail 0-3. They hit a blow to Bhupathi and Bopanna in the seventh and held their following serve to equalise the
score at 4-4. Rest of the set did not see either of the two teams making any strike, levelling the score at 6-6 and taking it to a tie-breaker. There was nothing to separate between the two teams till 7-7 but then Bhupathi and Bopanna bagged two in a row and
sealed it 7-6(7).
Bhupathi/Bopanna and Paes/Stepanek held their serve in the first six games and evened out the score at 3-3 in the second set. The Indian-Czech tandem clinched three consecutively later on to triumph 6-3.
After the match score getting tied at one set apiece, the contest was taken to a super tie-breaker. Both teams went neck to neck in the opening 10 points, squaring off the proceedings at 5-5. However, Paes and Stepanek pressed
the accelerator at that moment, capturing five straight points to claim it 10-5.
Paes was relieved and happy after positing this win over Bhupathi and Bopanna. The veteran said while talking to the reporters, "Today was a bit more of a personal match for us three Indians. Radek came in and he made it fun for
me. He relaxed, laughed, joked. Said, 'stay smooth, relaxed and have a hungry intensity'. I come up and make it fun for him and try and take over whenever I can."
Commenting on his partnership with Stepanek, the 39-year-old added, "We've had a great year. It started off with a big bang. To do well early in a partnership is something that can happen. But to continue playing well right through
the whole year shows the quality of tennis that we play."
Paes and Stepanek clinched Australian Open title at the start of the season and then won Sony Ericsson Open later on.
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