Leander-Rikl enter US Open men's doubles final

But Paes' dream of completing a rare double ended as he lost in the mixed doubles. In Hindi

Leander Paes and his Czech partner David Rikl advanced to the men's doubles final but the India Davis Cup star, pairing Martina Navratilova in mixed doubles, lost in the semis at the US Open Grand Slam tennis championship in New York.

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In the men's doubles semi-final, the 13th seeded duo beat Spain's Rafael Nadal and Tommy Robredo 6-3, 6-3 on Thursday night.

In Friday's final, Paes-Rikl will take on third seeds Mark Knowles of Bahamas and Daniel Nestor of Canada who beat the French pair of Julien Benneteau and Nicolas Mahut 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/5).

But the Indian's dream of completing a rare double at Flushing Meadows was shattered when American legend Martina Navratilova and he lost a thrilling three-set match to Australians Todd Woodbridge and Alicia Molik in the mixed doubles.

The eighth seeded pair lost 4-6, 6-3, 6-7 (3/10) in the semi-finals.

The Aussies will now take on fourth seeds Bob Bryan of USA and Russian Vera Zvonareva who ousted top seeds Nestor and Rennae Stubbs of Australia 7-5, 6-3.