TheSportsCampus

The Chennai Open witnessed some action packed tennis last night as both Doubles semifinals stretched to the super tie-breaker. The Israeli pair of Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram upset the top seeds Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna of India in the semifinals 4-6, 6-3, 10-8. Leander Paes, however, kept Indian hopes alive as he along with Janko Tipsarevic advanced to the finals 6-2, 6-7(1), 10-7 at the expense of Rajeev Ram and Scott Lipsky.

The Bhupathi - Bopanna pair appeared to be in fine touch as they took the first set, breaking Andy Ram's serve in the fifth game. The Indian duo managed to stay ahead of the Israeli pair with Boponna serving out the first 6-4. Coming into the second set, the Indians broke Erlich's serve in the opening game and cruised into a 2-0 lead.

However, Bhupathi returned the favour in the fourth game allowing the Israeli pair to level scores. The Indian duo appeared a little sluggish at the net, making way for the Israeli pair to get back into the contest. Bhupathi's serve was broken for the second time in the set in the eighth game and Erlich came up with a strong service game, firing three aces to even the match at one set a piece.

A nail biting finish to the match saw fortunes fluctuate before the Israeli pair took a decisive 9-6 lead. The Indians held on to their serves on the next couple of points to keep the match alive, but Elrich once again came up with the goods on his serve to seal the win on their third match point, 10-8.

Bhupathi later said, "We dominated the match for a full 40 minutes in every aspect of the game. But we made a few strategic errors to let them get back into the match. But we played well for three matches as a team and we look forward for a good performance at the Australian Open".

In the other semi-final, Paes and Tipsarevic survived a scare before downing the American pairing of Rajeev Ram and Scott Lipsky. The Indo-Serb pair got off to an impressive start taking the first set 6-2. Leander's brilliance at the net was ably supported by Tipsarevic's ground strokes and they broke the Americans twice to take the opening set.

The American pair came back strongly in the second set taking it all the way to the tiebreak. The strong serving Americans totally outplayed the Indo-Serb pair to win the breaker 7-1. Continuing the good show in the super tie-breaker, the Americans raced away to a 5-1 lead. In one of the best comebacks in the tournament, the Indo-Serb pair won the next four points to level the scores at 5-5. Cashing in on their newly found momentum and charged on by a record crowd, Paes - Tipsarevic closed out the super tiebreak 10-7.

Tipsarevic will look to repeat the 2007 feat of Xavier Mallisse when the Belgian was crowned the Singles as well as the Doubles champion.

Tipsarevic later said, "It's just the beginning of the season, I've enough fuel to play both the matches."

Leander Paes is the defending champion here and will look to add his sixth Chennai Open title this year.

Results:

Men's Doubles - Semifinals

[4] J Erlich (ISR) / A Ram (ISR) d [1] M Bhupathi (IND) / R Bopanna (IND) 46 63 10-8

[3] L Paes (IND) / J Tipsarevic (SRB) d [2] S Lipsky (USA) / R Ram (USA) 62 67(1) 10-7