Bhupathi-Paes make confident start

By Our Tennis Correspondent

CHENNAI, JAN. 4. Quite apart from anything outside of a tennis court, there is only one problem (?) with Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes - they are very, very good on the court together. So good, in fact, that you'd find it tough to zero in on an active pair that is as perfectly made for each other as the Indians.

In the event, it was hardly surprising that the two- time Grand Slam champions and the only players left in the fifth Gold Flake Open to keep the tri-colour flying made light of tough opposition in the opening round to get past Andreas Vinciguerra and Johan Landsberg of Sweden 6-2, 7-5 at the Nungambakkam Tennis Stadium on Wednesday.

As with all great sporting associations, it might be difficult to point a finger and say this is the reason they are so good. What can be said is that the X factor is at work and neither of these two men can hope to do half as well with any other partner.

Bhupathi and Paes won three titles in a row in this tournament before being robbed of the chance to make it a 1-2-3-4 last year. With Bhupathi still recovering from a late 1999 shoulder surgery, the pair could not defend their title.

Today, cheered by an enthusiastic crowd that is expected to swell with every step that Bhupathi and Paes take towards a fourth title here, the Indians started confidently and then quelled a second set resistance from the Swedish pair to keep alive a dream.

Breaking Landsberg's serve in the opening game of the match, Bhupathi and Paes outplayed the Swedish pair in the first set, going up a double-break on Landsberg's second service game.

But the Swedes suggested that they were not just about ready to pack it in, as they came back strongly in the second set. Paes twice battled back from the brink to hold to 4-4.

Then, in the 11th game, a Paes volley down the middle on Vinciguerra's serve gave the Indians a chance to break through but the Swedes fought off two breakpoints before Vinciguerra double faulted on the third.

Serving for the match, Paes himself needed three matchpoints to close out the match, a Bhupathi overhead finally deciding the contest.

``This was going to be a tough match. We couldn't have played a better first set and I am happy we closed it out in two,'' said Paes.

Bhupathi said that the pair was ``getting the feeling back together. In Bangalore (in the world doubles championship), we didn't play a good final. I am very happy my shoulder has come along well, I really served well today.''

The results: doubles quarterfinals: Barry Cowan(GBR)/Mose Navarra (Ita) bt Paul Rosner (RSA)/Jason Weir Smith (Ita) 4-6, 6- 3, 6-4. First round: Michael Tabarra/Tomas Zib (Cze) bt Jonathan Elrich (Isr)/Laurence Tieleman (Ita) 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.

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