Leander Paes playing in his 25 ATP season has partnered Mahesh Bhupathi five time previously in the Chennai Open but Day 4 of the Chennai Open saw the two old warhorses of Indian Tennis lock horns in a nail biting quarter-finals clash on Thurday.
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Top seeded duo of Leander Paes and South African Rowan Klaasen justified the ratings defeating the Indian wildcard pair of Mahesh Bhupathi and Saketh Myneni 1-6, 6-1, 10-7, and qualified for the doubles semi-finals in the ATP Aircel Chennai Open.
The winning duo will take on Spaniards Pablo Carreno Busta and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the finals scheduled to take place on friday. The Spaniards overcame Ricardas Berankis (Lithuania) and Mate Pavic (Croatia) 6-4, 0-6, 10-4 in their quarter-finals tie.
The Paes-Klaasen combination came from a set down to beat Bhupathi and Myneni in the keenly-contested quarterfinal duel. Paes used all his experience and combined well with Klaasen to forge a comeback in the match. Paes-Klaasen broke Bhupathi and Myneni twice to pocket the second set and take the match into super tie-breaker. In the super tie-breaker, Paes and Klaasen kept their composure to seal the tie in their favour.
It was a great day for the Indians as the Indo-Canadian pair of Purav Raja and Adil Shamasdin booked a place in the last four round. The duo defeated Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut and Stanislaus Wawrinka of Switzerland 7-6 4-6 10-4 in another doubles quarterfinal match earlier in the day.
The results (quarter-finals):
Doubles: 1-Leander Paes (IND)/Raven Klaasen (RSA) bt Mahesh Bhupathi/Saketh Myneni (IND) 1-6, 6-1, 10-7; Purav Raja (IND)/Adil Shamasdin (CAN) bt Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP)/Stan Wawrinka (SUI) 7-6(5), 4-6, 10-4; Pablo Carreno Busta/Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP) bt Ricardas Berankis (LIT)/Mate Pavic (CRO) 6-4, 0-6, 10-4.
