Paes-Stepanek in Miami final, Bhupathi-Bopanna exit

The possibility of an almost Indian showdown in the ATP Miami Masters' final was wiped out after Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna crashed out of the event in the semi-finals, even as Leander Paes and his Czech partner Radek Stepanek advanced to the title round.

Seventh seeds Paes-Stepanek caused a major upset, beating formidable top seeds Mike and Bob Bryan 6-4, 6-4, but the 'Indian Express' went down 2-6, 4-6 to second seeds Max Mirnyi of Belarus and Canada's Daniel Nestor. 

Paes-Stepanek, who had defeated the Bryan brothers in the Australian Open title clash earlier this year, took an  hour and 11 minutes to topple their fancied opponents.

The Indo-Czech combo go into the final without having dropped a set in the tournament thus far.

They won 66 points, compared to 43 by the Americans during the semi-final encounter. 

However, Paes-Stepanek could convert only three of as many as 11 break-points they got. 

Meanwhile, the sixth seeded Bhupathi-Bopanna lost in less than an hour to the Belarus-Canadian pair. 

The Indians, who had recently won the Dubai Duty Free Championships, failed to convert any of the six break-points that came their way, though they saved three of six break-points Mirnyi-Nestor forced.