Paes-Bhupathi a step away from conquering the world

HARTFORD, Nov 23: India's Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes are poised to set off scenes of mass celebration in their homeland having qualif...

HARTFORD, Nov 23: India’s Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes are poised to set off scenes of mass celebration in their homeland having qualified for the final of the season-wrapup $ 500,000 ATP World Doubles Championship.

The fifth seeds, aware that they had the hopes of their countrymen resting on their shoulders, slugged it out with Canadian Sebastien Lareau and American Alex O’Brien and emerge with a 6-1 2-6 7-6 (7-5) semifinals victory.

The Indian duo’s prospects of claiming the world title in their first full year on the circuit as a team improved when US veterans Rick Leach and Jonathan Stark disposed of heavily favored second seeds Jacco Eltingh and Paul Haarhuis 6-3 6-4 in the other semifinal.

The contest for the $ 133,000 winner’s check will be a battle between youth and experience, with the Indians, the youngest team in the event and Leach, at 32, the oldest player.

A spot in the finals also gives the veteran a chance to maintain a streak, now in its 10th year, of having won at least one title every 12 months.

Despite the Americans’ good form, the Indians got the opponents they preferred having lost badly to Eltingh and Haarhuis in the preliminary rounds here.

They beat Leach and Stark in straight sets in the team’s only clash on Tour to date in the final of Heineken Open, Singapore, in October to win their sixth ATP title of the year.

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The world number four Indian pair have earned a whopping 350 points with their effort, winning two round-robin matches and the semifinal which will boost their ATP rankings further.

There are 280 points more at stake if they win the final and are sure to break into the third position on ATP Tour rankings.

Paes-Bhupathi showed they were deserving of a spot in the final with a sometimes dazzling display against Lareau and O’Brien to avenge their defeat at the hands of Canadian-US combination in the Eurocard tournament in Stuttgart.

A victory in Stuttgart would have placed the Indians at world number three.Apart from a lapse in the second set, Bhupathi and Paes were in control, even in the deciding tie breaker where they raced to a 5-0 lead before wrappping it up.

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“We like to play when the pressure is on us,” said 23-year-old Bhupathi. “As soon as it was 6-6, we just looked at each other and smiled and said Okay, let’s go’.”

Paes, who experienced the adulation of the Indian sporting public when he won the bronze medal at the 1996 Olympics, said he was looking forward to heading home, hopefully with a World title.

“It’s really great for not only Mahesh and myself and our families, but also for Indian tennis. It shows Indian youngsters we can be world beaters too.”

Favourites after defeating world number one pair of Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde, Lareau-O’Brien had no answers to the total tennis of the Indians. Lareau-O’Brien were the runners-up here last year to the Woodies.

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Elated at their form, the Americans were bristling with confidence looking forward to tonight’s final. Leach said he hopes his experience will make a difference in the decider.

SEMI-FINAL RESULTS (prefix denotes seeding):

5-Mahesh Bhupathi/Leander Paes (India) beat 6-Sebastien Lareau (Canada)/Alex O’Brien (US) 6-1 2-6 7-6 (7-5); 4-Rick Leach/Jonathan Stark (US) beat 2-Jacco Eltingh/Paul Haarhuis (Netherlands) 6-3 6-4.