Shanghai, Oct 14 (IANS) Leander Paes of India and his Czech partner Radek Stepanek beat India’s Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna for the doubles tennis title at the Shanghai Masters Sunday.
The fourth seeds claimed a 6-7(7-9), 6-3, 10-5 comeback victory over the Indian duo, seeded seventh.
The Indian/Czech tandem saved four of the five break points they faced and broke their opponents twice to claim victory in one hour and 36 minutes. Paes and Stepanek won 50 percent of points on Bhupathi/Bopanna’s second serve and won 70 percent of their own service points.
“Today was a bit more of a personal match for us three Indians,” Paes was quoted as saying by ATP website.
“Radek came in and he made it fun for me. He relaxed, laughed, joked. Said, ‘stay smooth, relaxed and have a hungry intensity’.”
Paes and Stepanek, who have already qualified for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London, earned 1000 ATP World Tour ranking points and $207,320. Four spots remain at the year-end championships, with Bhupathi and Bopanna bolstering their claim by receiving 600 ranking points.
“We’ve had a great year,” said Paes. “It started off with a big bang. To do well early in a partnership is something that can happen. But to continue playing well right through the whole year shows the quality of tennis that we play.”
