Bhupathi-Vizner roll over Bryan brothers

Mahesh Bhupathi and his Czech partner Radek Stepanek upset top seeded Bryan brothers to move into the final of the 2,200,000 ATP Rogers Masters...

Mahesh Bhupathi and his Czech partner Radek Stepanek upset top seeded Bryan brothers to move into the final of the 2,200,000 ATP Rogers Masters tennis tournament in Montreal, Canada.

Bhupathi and Vizner, seeded eighth, edged past the Americans in an edge-of-the-seat thriller 6-2, 4-6, 12-10 which lasted an hour and seven minutes. The Indo-Czech pair had to save two match points in the super tie-breaker on their way to the summit clash against fifth seeds Paul Hanley and Kevin Ullyet.

The Australian-Zimbabwean pair defeated sixth seeded Israelis Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram 6-2, 6-3 in the other semi-final.

Bhupathi and Vizner were quick off the blocks and dominated the brothers in the opening set. They put relentless pressure on the Americans and capitalised on two of the seven break points they earned. The Indo-Czech pair also saved four break points it was confronted with. The second set was a close affair and the Bryans made use of the only break point to force a deciding super tie-breaker.

Bhupathi and Vizner then held their nerve to prevail in the 22-point decider to seal a spot in the final. They won seven of the eight points on their first serve and three on the first serve of their opponents.

Bhupathi and Vizner saved two consecutive match points at 7-9 in the tie-break and held their first match point by winning a third consecutive point. The Bryans levelled the tie-breaker at 10-10 before Bhupathi and Vizner won the final two points of the match.

Coming into the Rogers Masters, the Bryans had reached the final of 10 of their past 11 tournaments.

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Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic downed Rafael Nadal 7-5, 6-3 to earn a showdown with Roger Federer in the final of the Rogers Cup ATP tournament.

Federer, the world No. 1, took a step toward a third Rogers Cup title with a methodical 7-6 6, 6-2 victory over Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic in the early semi-final yesterday. 8220;Novak8217;s absolutely a tough player at this moment,8221; Federer said. 8220;He8217;s got a good serve and return and he always makes you work hard.8221;

Federer reached his seventh final in 10 tournaments this year. The Rogers Cup is his first tournament since taking his fifth straight Wimbledon title on July 8. 8220;I was very happy with the way I played,8221; he said. 8220;It was a tough match with a lot of crucial points and a lot of shots played on reaction.8221;

The 26-year-old will be going for his 50th title against the third-seeded Djokovic, who has lost to the Swiss ace in all of their four previous matches.

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Federer has won 16 straight matches at the Rogers Cup, with tournament wins in 2004 and 2006 in Toronto. Djokovic did not lose a service game against Nadal, and has lost only once on serve in 40 chances in the tournament.