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Indian pair describes victory as thrilling one
Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi on Sunday said the thrilling victory in Chennai Open semifinal over the Croatian pair of Marin Cilic and Ivan Dogig was down to precise planning over the strategy to be adopted in the match.
Chennai: The returning Indian Express of
Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi on Sunday said the thrilling
victory in Chennai Open semifinal over the Croatian
pair of Marin Cilic and Ivan Dogig was down to precise
planning over the strategy to be adopted in the match.
Paes and Bhupathi, playing here as a pair for the first
time in eight years since their last appearance here
culminated in a title triumph in 2002, entered the doubles
final after a 6-1, 7-6 (4), 10-5 victory over Cilic and Dodig.
Asked if the Indian pair had consciously tried to keep their
returns low, keeping in mind Cilic`s 6 foot 6 frame, Paes
agreed. "Yeah, we kept it soft and low." he said.
"We had to volley really well and we did. That`s why we
won," added Bhupathi.
Paes pointed out that "we played two really good singles
players," and called world number 14 Cilic`s backhand returns
"world class, which is why he is one of the top singles
players in the world."
Asked about the prospect of playing the Serbo-Italian pair
of Janko Tipsarevic and Simone Bolelli in the final (the
latter were then leading 5-2 in the first set in their
semifinal encounter with the Dutch-British pair of Robin Haase
and David Martin), Paes said, "It`s too early to say but
they`re playing really well and their backhands are
excellent."
PTI
PTI