Bhupathi-Vizner roll over Bryan brothers

New Delhi:

Mahesh Bhupathi and his Czech partner Pavel Vizner upset top seeded Bryan brothers to move into the final of the $2.2 million ATP Rogers Masters tennis tournament in Montreal, Canada.

Bhupathi and Vizner, seeded eighth, edged past the Americans in an edge-of-the-seat thriller 6-2 4-6 12-10 which lasted an hour and seven minutes.

The Indo-Czech pair had to save two match points in the super tie-breaker on their way to the summit clash against fifth seeds Paul Hanley and Kevin Ullyet.

The Australian-Zimbabwean pair defeated sixth seeded Israelis Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram 6-2 6-3 in the other semi-final.

Bhupathi and Vizner were quick off the blocks and dominated the brothers in the opening set. They put relentless pressure on the Americans and capitalised on two of the seven break points they earned. The Indo-Czech pair also saved four break points it was were confronted with.

The second set was a close affair and the Bryans made use of the only break point to force a deciding super tie-breaker.

Bhupathi and Vizner then held their nerve to prevail in the 22-point decider to seal a spot in the final. They won seven of the eight points on their first serve and three on the first serve of their opponents.

Bhupathi and Vizner saved two consecutive match points at 7-9 in the tie-break and held their first match point by winning a third consecutive point. The Bryans levelled the tie-breaker at 10-10 before Bhupathi and Vizner won the final two points of the match.

Coming into the Rogers Masters, the Bryans had reached the final of 10 of their past 11 tournaments.