Leander Paes enters doubles semis in Dubai

The Indo-American pair turned the contest on its head in the tenth game of the second set, by converting the only breakpoint they forced in the whole match.

It was solid work, after an easy outing in the first round when Leander Paes (Above) and partner had sailed past alternates Andreas Haider-Maurer of Austria and Florian Mayer of Germany 6-3, 6-1. (File Photo)

Leander Paes in partnership with Jamie Cerretani of the US beat fourth seeds Raven Klaasen of South Africa and Michael Venus of New Zealand 2-6, 6-4, 10-7 in the doubles quarterfinals of the $3,057,135 ATP tennis tournament in Dubai on Thursday.

The Indo-American pair turned the contest on its head in the tenth game of the second set, by converting the only breakpoint they forced in the whole match.

It was solid work, after an easy outing in the first round when Leander and partner had sailed past alternates Andreas Haider-Maurer of Austria and Florian Mayer of Germany 6-3, 6-1.

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Karen Khachanov of Russia was scheduled to compete against Leander and partner but had hurt his lower back during his three-set singles loss to second seed Lucas Pouille of France. Thus, the alternates were pressed into service.

Meanwhile, Divij Sharan in partnership with Yuichi Sugita, a singles specialist who made the quarterfinals, went down to the seasoned pair of Marcin Matkowski of Poland and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi in straight sets in the first round. The first round elimination meant no ATP points, but the Indo-Japanese pair collected $11,090.

In the $150,000 Challenger in Indian Wells, the fourth-seeded Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Purav Raja were beaten in the quarterfinals by Liam Broady of Britain and Matt Reid of Australia. The Indian pair collected $1,920 and 25 ATP points.

In the ITF women’s event in Turkey, national champion Riya Bhatia missed a matchpoint and was beaten 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(6) by Luna Meer of Belgium in the pre-quarterfinals that lasted nearly three hours.

The results:

$3,057, 135 ATP, Dubai, UAE

Doubles (quarterfinals): Jamie Cerretani (US) & Leander Paes bt Raven Klaasen (RSA) & Michael Venus (Nzl) 2-6, 6-4, 10-7; Pre -quarterfinals: Jamie Cerretani & Leander Paes bt Andreas Haider-Maurer (Aut) & Florian Mayer (Ger) 6-3, 6-1; Marcin Matkowski (Pol) & Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (Pak) bt Yuiichi Sugita (Jpn) & Divij Sharan 7-5, 6-1.

$150,000 Challenger men, Indian Wells, US

Doubles (quarterfinals): Liam Broady (GBR) & Matt Reid (Aus) bt Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan & Purav Raja 6-3, 6-4.

$15,000 ITF women, Antalya, Turkey

Singles (pre-quarterfinals): Luna Meers (Bel) bt Riya Bhatia 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(6).

$15,000 ITF women, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt

Doubles (quarterfinals): Yuliya Hatouka & Iryna Shymanovich (Blr) bt Angelina Gabueva (Rus) & Pranjala Yadlapalli 6-2, 6-2.