It146;s AB before PQ

With Denis Gremelmayr8217;s hip injury forcing the German pair along with Greul to pull out, Bhupathi and Ancic will now directly play the final.

Paes-Qureshi took care of the thrills in an entertaining second set after a soporific opening set saw them playing the good guests8212;the Pakistani more gracious in gifting points at the net than his more experienced partner to Bhupathi, host-proper and Ancic8212;whose face, smiling out of cut-outs sold the tournament to the city, making him host-virtuoso.

This pair kept the frills to a bare minimum8212;the Croat serving impeccably 8212;ending as the only one of the four not to be broken, while Bhupathi set the tone for some steady returns as they picked the first set 6-1 after breaks in the first, third, fifth and seventh.

Playing in only his second match with Paes, Aisam Qureshi seemed the weaker link through the opener. But some on-court coaching8212; particularly Paes8217; shrill yell demanding an Upar maar lob from Qureshi saw the younger pro hit his stride in the second set, managing some delectable volleys to match Paes8217; reflexes.

The best rally of the match was easily at 3-3 in Set 2, Bhupathi chasing twice on the backcourt, Aisam volleying from deuce court and Paes finishing it with a smash to bisect his rivals. It is not often that Ancic will find himself out of a captivating picture, out-cheered by the crowds; but he had little to do as Paes, Bhupathi and Qureshi shared the exchanges in the second.

The third set, played according to new rules to a first-to-ten points race tie-break, saw Ancic take the initiative with his serve. They broke away from 3-1, and Bhupathi sealed it 10-3 with a backhand volley.