Chennai:
Top seeded Indian Express pair of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi staved off five match points as they rallied to oust Beijing olympic gold medalist Stans Wawrinka and Frank Dansevic combine 3-6 7-6 (8) 10-4 to give a winning start to their reunion in a first round doubles match of the Aircel Chennai Open ATP tournament in Chennai on Monday night.
Coming together on the ATP Circuit after nine years in a bid to win that elusive Australian Open title, the Indian duo was staring at defeat in the second set tie-break, but Paes, who was off-colour till then, found his rhythm at the right moment and joined with Bhupathi to dish out high quality tennis with authority to script a memorable victory.
The supportive crowd that waited patiently into the wee hours were treated to the famous chest thumping by the Indian duo as the Swiss-Canadian duo wilted under pressure.
The stunning display of authoritative tennis by Paes and Bhupathi came after the Asian Games gold medalists and wild card duo of Somdev Devvaraman and Sanam Singh made a disappointing early exit losing to Dutch-American pair of Robin Haase and David Martin.
Somdev and Sanam, the semifinalists here last year, fired in fits and starts but failed to build momentum as they lost 7-5 2-6 8-10.
It was Wawrinka-Dancevic duo that dominated the proceedings right from the beginning but a sudden shift of events brought the Indian Express pair to the fore in the tie-break of second set.
As the rivals failed to cash in on the situation and being under pressure thus far committing frequent unforced errors, the Indians, who share a 223-81 career record, including three Grand Slam doubles titles, grabbed the opportunity in the super tie break to race to a vital 4-1 lead.
Earlier, as the match started Wawrinka, who had partnered his compatriot Roger Federer of Switzerland to win the Olympic Gold Medal in Beijing, was not only solid with his serves and returns but displayed commendable aggression.
Dancevic kept his cool and was consistent with his first serves for points. With Paes being off colour and nothing work for him, the rivals went on to lead 5-2 before winning the first set in 31 minutes.
But Dancevic and Wawrinka could not stand up to the pressure and perhaps over confidence also did them in as in the second set the Indians, Bhupathi in particular, made amends to their first set lapses and tightened up their game to win their service games. In fact the Indians almost won the second after Bhupathi led 5-3 on his serve.
However, the Indian pair were soon back to their usual manner of ruling the roost and played with increasing confidence while their rivals wilted under pressure to yield a 7-1 lead in the deciding super tie break.
Here Paes came up with superb volleys, including a few delectable drive from close to the net, and a stunning return while Bhupathi starred with booming service points.
Trailing 4-8, Wawrinka came up with two good winners but Paes and Bhupathi held five match points before Dancevic failed to put across a Bhupathi return.
Coming together on the ATP Circuit after nine years in a bid to win that elusive Australian Open title, the Indian duo was staring at defeat in the second set tie-break, but Paes, who was off-colour till then, found his rhythm at the right moment and joined with Bhupathi to dish out high quality tennis with authority to script a memorable victory.
The supportive crowd that waited patiently into the wee hours were treated to the famous chest thumping by the Indian duo as the Swiss-Canadian duo wilted under pressure.
The stunning display of authoritative tennis by Paes and Bhupathi came after the Asian Games gold medalists and wild card duo of Somdev Devvaraman and Sanam Singh made a disappointing early exit losing to Dutch-American pair of Robin Haase and David Martin.
Somdev and Sanam, the semifinalists here last year, fired in fits and starts but failed to build momentum as they lost 7-5 2-6 8-10.
It was Wawrinka-Dancevic duo that dominated the proceedings right from the beginning but a sudden shift of events brought the Indian Express pair to the fore in the tie-break of second set.
As the rivals failed to cash in on the situation and being under pressure thus far committing frequent unforced errors, the Indians, who share a 223-81 career record, including three Grand Slam doubles titles, grabbed the opportunity in the super tie break to race to a vital 4-1 lead.
Earlier, as the match started Wawrinka, who had partnered his compatriot Roger Federer of Switzerland to win the Olympic Gold Medal in Beijing, was not only solid with his serves and returns but displayed commendable aggression.
Dancevic kept his cool and was consistent with his first serves for points. With Paes being off colour and nothing work for him, the rivals went on to lead 5-2 before winning the first set in 31 minutes.
But Dancevic and Wawrinka could not stand up to the pressure and perhaps over confidence also did them in as in the second set the Indians, Bhupathi in particular, made amends to their first set lapses and tightened up their game to win their service games. In fact the Indians almost won the second after Bhupathi led 5-3 on his serve.
However, the Indian pair were soon back to their usual manner of ruling the roost and played with increasing confidence while their rivals wilted under pressure to yield a 7-1 lead in the deciding super tie break.
Here Paes came up with superb volleys, including a few delectable drive from close to the net, and a stunning return while Bhupathi starred with booming service points.
Trailing 4-8, Wawrinka came up with two good winners but Paes and Bhupathi held five match points before Dancevic failed to put across a Bhupathi return.
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