TheSportsCampus

It was yet another mixed day for the Indians on day 11 at the French Open. The in-form Indian pair of Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza delivered another stunning performance to book a place for the summit-clash tomorrow. But Indians will be disappointed as they will miss out a Leander vs Mahesh tussle in the final, as India’s Olympic hero crashed out in the semi-finals alongwith his Russian partner Elena Vesnina in straight sets.

Mahesh - Sania seemed to be in full flow today as they blazed past the unseeded pair of Galina Voskoboeva and Daniele Bracciali in straight sets. The first set was competitive as both pairs traded breaks at regular intervals. But the Indian pair had the last laugh with the decisive break. In the second set, it was an all Indian affair. Mahesh served brilliantly and Sania complemented him with some sharp volleys. They broke the Kazakh - Italian pair’s serve twice in 5^th and 7^th game and served out the match comfortably at the end. The carnage lasted for an hour and 10 minutes as the Indians won the match 6-4, 6-2.

But it was a disappointing performance from the Paes - Vesnina pairing as they succumbed to the unseeded duo of Santiago Gonzalez and Klaudia Jans-Ignacik in straight sets. The first set was closely fought with the Indo-Russian pair up a break twice in the set, but they failed to take advantage of the situation as the set was dragged into a tiebreak. The Polish - Mexican pair edged out the Indians to run away with the tiebreak 7-2. In the second set, there were no early breaks till Vesnina was broken in the all important 7^th game. Gonzalez and Ignacik took control of the match and closed it out with another break to record a solid 7-6(2), 6-3 win.

The 7^th seeded Indian pairing of Mahesh and sania will now face Santiago Gonzalez and Klaudia Jans-Ignacik in the final tomorrow on Court Philippe Chatrier.