CHENNAI: The third seed Indo-Serbian pair of Leander Paes and Janko Tipsarevic won the doubles title at the Aircel Chennai Open 2012, defeating fourth seed Israeli duo of Andy Ram and Jonathan Erlich 6-4, 6-4 in straight sets on Sunday.
In a match the lasted 73 minutes, the local favourites won their first title together and Paes’ sixth doubles title.
Tipsarevic played the match right after losing the singles final. Asked how he had managed such a physically difficult task, Tipsarevic said, “I had a very hard pre-season. I have that every year, fitness in general is one of my strength”.
Paes and Tipsarevic wrapped up the title in game 10 of the second set on Paes’ serve, right after they had broken Erlich in the previous game.
Serving for the set, Paes and Tipsarevic were aided in their cause after Erlich hit two consecutive serve returns long from the baseline. At 40-0 up and three match points at their disposal, Ram and Erlich left a Paes volley sail unharmed between them, gifting the first doubles title to the Indo-Serbian pair.
Erlich and Ram have already been runners up once in the Chennai Open, losing in the 2004 doubles final to the Spanish pair of Rafael Nadal and Tommy Robredo.
Paes said, “I know how difficult it is mentally to play two finals on the same day. The way he (Tipsarevic) prepared for both the finals, it was impeccable. He epitomises what an athlete should be.”
Following their semifinal victory over Rajeev Ram and Scott Lipsky on Saturday, Paes had attributed the success of his partnership with Serbian Janko Tipsarevic to their “work ethic”.
Earlier, fourth seeded Canadian Milos Raonic played the game of his career to snatch the singles title from the jaws of defeat by beating top seeded Serbian Janko Tipsarevic 6-7(4) 7-6(4) 7-6(4) in the final.
The match also tuned out to be the longest final in the history of the Chennai Open. Sending out 35 aces against Tipsarevic’s eight, Raonic colleted 250 ATP points and a cash prize of USD 71,900 besides the glittering trophy, while the runner-up received USD 37,860 and 150 points after the 193-minute duel.
Regarded as the most feared talent on the circuit, Raonic’s biggest weapon is his booming serve and despite lacking in ground strokes, he stuck to his game plan well, most importantly in the tie-breaker, to get the better of Tipsarevic who dished out variety in his game. (PTI)