No No.1 trouble in doubles
Bhupathi, Paes to face Rafter, Bjorkman in final
Posted: Thursday January 28, 1999 01:45 PM
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Rafter, the two-time U.S. Open champion, is still looking for his first final at his home Open AP |
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- Indian doubles specialists and No. 1 seeds Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes reached their first Grand Slam final by edging out Ellis Ferreira and Rick Leach at the Australian Open on Thursday.
Bhupathi and Paes overcame their rivals 7-6 (7-1), 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) and will play fifth seeds Patrick Rafter and Jonas Bjorkman on Saturday.
Rafter, the No. 4 singles player, and Bjorkman beat Australian's Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde. The Woodies have won 51 doubles tournaments and nine Grand Slam titles, but Bjorkman and Rafter got an inspired 3-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, 8-6 victory.
Bhupathi said the win was a breakthrough, because they were able to break the mental barrier of reaching a final, after four semifinal losses.
"It was definitely playing in our minds, not reaching a final, so there was a little bit of extra pressure," Bhupathi said.
The head-to-head between the finalists stands at 1-0 to Bjorkman and Rafter, but Paes believes their team is constantly improving and has a good chance in the final.
"We will give it our best shot, there is no pressure on us so we will just go for it," Paes said.
Singles come first for Bjorkman and Rafter, but they are still looking forward to the atmosphere of a grand slam final.
For Rafter, the two-time U.S. Open champion, it means a first final at his home Open.
"It's going to be a great feeling; it's going to be a good achievement if we can pull it off," Rafter said.
American Lindsay Davenport received some consolation for losing her singles semifinal by reaching the doubles final with Natasha Zvereva.
The No. 1 seeds beat Venus and Serena Williams in three sets, 1-6, 6-4, 6-4, and play Martina Hingis and Anna Kournikova in Friday's final.
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