Leander146;s wait continues

With Leander Paes and Martin Damm8217;s loss to the Bryan twins in the final of Key Biscayne, the duo lost out on the chance to top the ATP 2007 Doubles Race.

With Leander Paes and Martin Damm8217;s loss to the Bryan twins in the final of Key Biscayne, the duo lost out on the chance to top the ATP 2007 Doubles Race. What was also lost, however, was the opportunity for Paes to equal Mahesh Bhupathi8217;s record of 39 doubles titles on the ATP tour.

For Paes, Saturday was a case of being so close yet so far in Miami. Battling on court for a little under a hundred minutes against top seeds Bob and Mike Bryan, Paes and Damm, the sixth seeds, went down 6-7 7, 6-3, 10-7 in the final. Beginning the Masters Series event 17 points adrift of the Bryans 8212; who top the points table 8212; Paes and Damm thus lost out on the opportunity in what is considered to be the fifth Slam of the year.

The Indo-Czech pair8217;s defeat also put paid to their hopes of becoming the first team since Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor in 2002 to capture back-to-back ATP Masters Series titles in Indian Wells and Miami.

8220;I would call it unlucky, we were almost there,8221; said Paes, who more than Bhupathi8217;s record seemed disappointed about missing out on the chance of rounding off the hard court season as the No 1 doubles pair.

Having played their fourth final this season, Miami, for both Paes and Damm, has been one tour stop where they have failed to cement their authority, a stat not just confined to them as a pair. Earlier, both had made final appearances with other doubles partners. Damm and Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia lost in 2000 to Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde, while Paes and David Rikl lost to Roger Federer and Max Mirnyi in 2003.

While the Bryans have been Paes and Damm8217;s greatest rivals the Americans boast of a 4-0 W/L record the loss thus put an end to the Indo-Czech8217;s nine-match winning streak, which by far has been the best by any of the pairs on tour. Nevertheless, with one title from two Masters finals in two weeks, it8217;s over to the clay court season with hope that the momentum continues.

8220;The past two weeks have been simply fantastic,8221; explained Paes. Last week, the duo had defeated Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi en route to the Indian Wells crown. With the Bryans mentioning that it8217;s taken them eight years to land their hands on ATP8217;s fifth largest title, Paes responded, 8220;Well, we8217;ve got time then; our association is just in its second year.8221;