23 August,2011 08:45 AM IST | | Ashwin Ferro
There's a general notion in sport, that a semi-final is more important than the final, given that unless you win the semis, there's no way you can reach the summit clash in the first place. And this notion held true for Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, who clinched the Cincinnati Masters yesterday.
Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes during Saturday's Cincinnati
Open semi-final against USA's Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan. Pic/AFP
Third seeds Paes-Bhupathi fought hard to beat the fourth seed French-Serbian combo of Michael Llodra and Nenad Zimonjic 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2) in an hour and 41 minutes. But Paes felt their semi-final win, a day earlier, over World No 1 and top seeds here, the Bryan brothers, was equally, if not more, important. "This was the third time we were meeting the Bryans this season, having lost the previous two encounters to them. They are the best doubles team in the world right now and have already won two of the three Slams this season (Australian Open and Wimbledon), so beating them really kept us in great spirit for the final," Paes told MiD DAY from Cincinnati yesterday.
The semi-final win was also a positive step for the Indian duo in context with the 2012 Olympic Games. "The Bryans are definitely contenders for that Olympic medal, so beating them does do a world of good to our preparation for the London Games. However, we'd still like to take things one week at a time," said the former India Davis Cup skipper.
However, this is not to suggest for one bit that the final was easy. "Llodra and Zimonjic have been in great form lately. They won in Washington DC, followed by another title in Canada and then made the final here. We had to be at our best to beat them, and fortunately, we had a good clean game. We played really well, had no unforced errors and took all our chances," added the five-time Olympian.
Next stop, New York, for the year's last Slam. And Paes is already looking forward to it. "I've lived a fair bit in NY and it's a great place. And the US Open has been a happy hunting ground for me (having won doubles with Martin Damm in 2006 and Lukas Dlouhy 2009, and mixed doubles with Cara Black in 2008), and Mahesh (having won doubles with Max Mirnyi in 2002, and mixed doubles with Ai Sugiyama in 1999 and Daniela Hantuchova in 2005)," said Paes. "Besides, it's nice to get our rhythm back after a European Summer, where we seemed to have lost the tempo a bit. We must keep up that rhythm for the rest of the year now."
