Paes gets mind over matter

And, with Bhupathi playing the best tennis in a long while, Paes has a match on his hands tomorrow when the top stars meet in a final for the second time in two months, the earlier one being at the Calcutta Challenger in February, where Paes won.

Bhupathi dropped a set for the first time in the tournament but that did not stophim from taking out third seed Argentinian Gaston Etlis 8212; his third seeded victim in four days 8212; 3-6, 6-0, 7-5 in the other semifinal.

8220;I8217;m enjoying this week like never before,8221; Bhupathi said. But his senior partner8217;s predicament was in stark contrast during the entire week. Today, Paes hit rock bottom. His serving was downright poor, returns were wayward and his volleys 8212; Carraz let him have very little of that 8212; were too average and if he has to thank anybody, it rather be his head and his opponent who slipped in 19 double faults. Paes contributed 10 more to that, adding up truckloads of unforced errors both made.

8220;It was a challenge for me to win such matches. Because it was not a big occasion, not many people on the stands and I still managed to dive for some points which also showed that I have the urge to win this tournament,8221; Paes said.

After two and three-fourth sets of absolutely unforgettable tennis, Paes awoke when the noose was already on the neck. In the final set tie-breaker, hesquandered a match point while serving at 6-5. Soon, he was down match point at 6-7 with Carraz8217;s serve to come. A backhand chip on second serve helped him save that and match point number two came with a forehand cross court winner. At 9-8, with Carraz serve, it was match point number three. The Frenchman saved that but double-faulted to give the fourth match point. Paes served out the match.

Earlier, Bhupathi was in the right frame of mind after the straight-set demolition of second seed Vladimir Voltchkov yesterday. After the initial lack of rhythm in the first set, Bhupathi8217;s tennis simply flowed. The stockily-built Etlis just withered after the first set, especially after Bhupathi did not even allow him one game in the second set. Etlis managed to save two match points in the 10th game of the final set, but failed to hold on to the 12th game.

Said Paes of Bhupathi: 8220;He is serving and volleying well. We know each other8217;s game like the back of our hands and it8217;s going to be funmatch.8221;

Results

Singles semifinals: Leander Paes Ind bt Gregory Carraz Fra 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 9; Mahesh Bhupathi Ind bt Gaston Etlis Arg 3-6, 6-0, 7-5

Final: Paes vs Bhupathi

Doubles semifinals: Barry Cowan Gbr/Wesley Whitehouse RSA bt Lorenzo Manta Sui/Vladimir Voltchkov Blr 7-6 10, 6-3; Noam Behr/E Ran Isr bt Tuomas Ketola Fin/Petr Pala Cze 7-5, 6-4.