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Gerry
Weber Open 2008 Reports
& Pictures by MATCH
REPORT Good start in Halle The Indian flag is once again shining in the sunny German city of Halle/Westfalen. Leander Paes is the lone Indian participant in this year’s edition of the Gerry Weber Open tennis tournament. Paes and his Czech partner Lukas Dlouhy had the honour to open the main draw proceedings, while playing the first match of the Gerry Weber Open 2008 on Center Court against Marcos Baghdatis (Cyprus) and Olivier Rochus (Belgium). The fourth-seeded Indo-Czech duo had a good start into the tournament and kicked-off their campaign with a 6:2, 7:6 win. Olivier Rochus had the first serve of the match and gave his team the lead. Dlouhy levelled the score and Paes/Dlouhy clinched a break moments later. Leading 2:1, Paes brought his serve trough without losing a single point. Later on Paes/Dlouhy claimed one more break to increase the lead to 5:2. The Indian star roped in the sixth game to finish the first set in style. The second set was a close issue with both double teams fighting out each point. The set went into the all-deciding tie-break. Paes/Dlouhy showed their experience and confidence in the tie-break. Finally Paes hit the crucial point with a fine volley and decided the match in favour of the Indo-Czech duo. MATCH
REPORT Paes/Dlouhy enter the semis The Indo-Czech pair of Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy advanced to the semifinals of the Gerry Weber Open 2008 today. Paes/Dlouhy had the better end against the German duo of Tommy Haas and Michael Berrer with a 6:3, 6:4. Dlouhy started the match with his serve and gave his team the lead. Both teams brought their serves through till the fourth game. Paes/Dlouhy clinched a break and utilized from a poor first serve by Berrer. A break point Paes/Dlouhy never gave away in the first set and finished off the same 6:3. In the early second set the match had its small controversy, when the linesman called a serve by Dlouhy out after initially giving his OK! Paes and Haas had a discussion on the call for several minutes. Things cooled down moments later, when Paes brought home the game in favour of his team. The second set went on without any breaks. Everyone was expecting a tie-break, but then things turned around and Tommy Haas lost his serve in the ninth game. Paes/Dlouhy took a crucial 5:4 lead. Dlouhy clinched the all-deciding final game to book the Indo-Czech pair a place in the semis. Paes/Dlouhy will now face Ivan Ljubicic (Croatia) and Robin Soderling (Sweden). |