Indian challenge in doubles ends

Chennai:

Indian challenge in the doubles event of the ATP Chennai Open ended on Friday when top seeds Mahesh Bhupathi and his partner Mark Knowles of Bahamas were shocked by unseeded Swiss duo of Jean Claude Scherrer and Stanislas Wawrinka 3-6 6-3 8-10 in the quarterfinals.

With the second seeded duo of Leander Paes amd Laukas Dlouhy (Cez) tasting a shock defeat in the first round last night, Bhupathi was the lone Indian suriving in the doubles and the home crowd expected the veteran to keep the Indian interest alive by making the final.

But, the world number three pair failed to hold on to their advantages and had no clue in the final stages of the tie breaker against their Swiss rivals.

"The tie break play in doubles has always been tricky and it is a lottery. We could not succeed in the final stretch," said Bhupathi after the loss.

In another late night doubles quarterfinal, German pair of Bjorn Phau and Rainer Schuettler beat the Spanish duo of Marcel Granollers and Santiago Ventura 6-3, 6-7 (4), 10-7.

In the semifinals on Saturday, Scherrer and Wawrinka take on the American combine of Scott Lipsky and David Martin while Phau and Schuettler, who had ousted Paes-Dlouhy pair in the first round, clash with Eric Butorac and Rajeev Ram, also from the US.