Paes-Bhupathi lose,all-Indian match for bronze medal

What transpired during the Mahesh Bhupathi-Leander Paes loss to Australians Peter Luczak and Paul Hanley was a clear case of the Indians running out of steam

What transpired during the Mahesh Bhupathi-Leander Paes loss to Australians Peter Luczak and Paul Hanley was a clear case of the Indians running out of steam,a day after their grueling two-hour-long quarterfinal on Thursday. When they came out to play the semifinal on Friday,a packed R. K Khanna Center Court was rooting for the top-seeded Indians,expecting a continued show of their quarter-final form.

But the fans were soon left asking for more as the spectacular net volleys of a day before turned into lazy shots and unforced errors in plenty. Early breaks by the Australians who played aggressively throughout the match resulted in a 6-2 6-2 victory – a rare loss for a Lee-Hesh partnership.

Though India had hoped for a dream final in mens doubles between Lee-Hesh and Bopanna-Somdev – a chance to keep both the gold and silver medals,the same line-up will now play the bronze medal match as earlier in the day,Bopanna and Somdev too crashed out of the event.

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Though Bopanna-Somdev started well and took the first set 6-3,the English team of Ross Hutchins and Ken Skupski bounced back and took the second set 6-3. Continuing with their form and confidence,and relying on their attacking game,they wrapped up the last set 6-4 to enter the final.

However,the yellow metal hopes in mens and womens singles are still alive for India as both Somdev and Sania won their respective semifinals against Australian opponents. On Sunday Somdev will take on Greg Jones while Sania will face Anastasia Rodionova on Saturday. Somdev made short work of his opponent Matt Ebden as he beat him 6-3,and 6-1 but Sania had a tougher route to the final as she came back from a set and 3-1 down to win the match against Olivia Rogowska 1-6,6-4,6-4.

Sources in the LJP (RV) said the names of the remaining 15 candidates would also be announced very soon.

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