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20 April 2024

Bhupathi, Llodra thrash Bopanna, Ram to enter the Dubai final

Published
By Ajanta Paul

Indian tennis star Mahesh Bhupathi and his French partner Michael Llodra are through to the Men's double finals of Dubai Duty Free Tennis 
Championship.

Bhupathi-Llodra won the match in a tie-breaker 6-3, 6-7, 10-5.

A bright and sunny day here in Dubai, the first semi-finals at the Centre Court was an all-unseeded match between Mahesh Bhupathi, Michael Llodra and 
Rohan Bopanna (India), Rajeev Ram (USA).

Having won the tournament with Bopanna here last year Bhaupathi seems to have gauged his game well.

Agreeing to it Bhupathi said, "Yeah, all of us know each other's game, we play with each other so many times and we won here last time, so, we both like to play in this surface,  but we did really well today."

In the first set Bhupathi-Llodra broke Bopanna-Ram in the eighth game taking a lead of 5-3. Bhupathi then served to win the set 6-3.

This is Bhupathi's 6th final in Dubai and Llodra's first.

Bhupathi-Llodra, playing together for the first time this week, won their first round convincingly and then winning from set down in the quarter-
finals.

The second set took off in a similar fashion after Bhupathi-Llodra broke the 5th game and went up 4-2.

However, Bopanna-Ram fought back breaking Bhupathi's serve at match point. Bopanna then went on to hold his serve and win the second set 6-7.

"That's the nature or format of the game. We played a very high quality match, I think even though the match points that we lost, we didn't do too much wrong, they came up with some big shots and we were little unlucky on some net calls but credit to us we were able to put our head-down and regroup at the start of the tie-breaker, that saw us through," Bhupathi said after losing the second set at match point.

The decider tie-break started of with Bopanna-Ram gaining some quick points but going down to the much experienced Bhupathi-Llodra 10-5.

They will now face Robert Lindstedt- Nenad Zimonjic in the final on Saturday.