Jan. 8: Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi staved off a stiff challenge from Croatians Marin Cilic and Ivan Dodig 6-1, 7-6(4), 10-5 to enter the Chennai Open doubles final at the SDAT Stadium here on Saturday. The Indian pair’s wealth of experience got the better of their youthful opponents in an entertaining match that was decided in the super tie-break.
After losing the first set tamely, the scratch pair clinched the second to force the decider in which Lee-Hesh had the last laugh. The drama lasted till the final point which was referred to the Hawk-Eye. Earlier, After playing a marathon rain-delayed quarterfinal in the wee hours of Saturday, Stanislas Wawrinka showed no signs of fatigue as the Swiss knocked out top seed Tomas Berdych 6-4, 6-1 the same day to make it to the final of the Chennai Open at the SDAT stadium.
Wawrinka, last year’s runner-up, will take on the 2007 Chennai champion Xavier Malisse in the showdown on Sunday. The Belgian, however, had to claw his way back from a set down to beat Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the first semifinal.
Though he posted straight set victories en route to the last four, Berdych, the world No.6, looked out of sorts in the event and none of his initial round opponents capitalised on it. But Wawrinka was quick to find the chinks in the tall Czech’s armour. It was Tipsarevic who started as favorite against Malisse. The 25-year-old lived up to the expectations in the opening set, winning it in just 28 minutes. The match, however, completely turned on its head after that. While Tipsarevic was making a slew of it, Malisse grew in with confidence.
Malisse said his controlled aggression helped him bounce back in the second set. “I started taking risks and it paid dividends. Also, my down-the-line backhands worked well,” said Malisse, who is hoping to end his three-year title drought against Wawrinka on Sunday.
Results: Singles semifinals: Staniaslas Wawrinka (Sui) bt Tomas Berdych 6-4, 6-1; Xavier Malisse (Bel) bt Janko Tipsarevic (Srb) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.