US Open: Polish pair derail Indian Express

The Indian pair of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi were knocked out of the US Open after they lost their quarterfinal match to Poland's Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski in straight sets.

The sixth seeded Polish duo won by 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) margin in an hour and 43 minutes against the fourth seeded in Indian pair.

Leander will however pair up with Elena Vesnina later in the day to play his mixed doubles semi-final against Melanie Oudin and Jack Sock. 

Another Indian star Rohan Bopanna and his Pakistani partner Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi are also expected to take the court against Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins of Great Britain. The winner of that match will meet the Polish pair in the last four clash. 

Playing on Court No 4, Paes and Bhupathi lost their serve once during the first set and the Polish duo cashed in on the opportunity to wrap it up in the 10th game. They won the first set in 34 minutes. 

It was the service that let the 'Indian Express' down as they won only 86 percent points on their first serve compared to 65 percent by Fyrstenberg and Matkowski. 

The second set also saw both teams competing on even keel. Although Paes and Bhupathi got a chance to convert a break point in the seventh game but they failed to do so. 

As both the pairs held their serve, the second set went into a tie-break. However the Polish duo held their nerves as they won the tie-breaker by 7-4 margin in 69 minutes.

Photograph: Jay Mandal