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Paes-Damm reach semifinals of Qatar Open
The third-seed Indo-Czech pair carved out a 6-3 6-1 win over the wild card entrants to make it to the last four of the USD 1 million event.
Leander Paes and his Czech Republic partner Martin Damm stormed into the semifinals of the Qatar Open after thrashing the Belgian pair of Christophe Rochus and Kristof Vliegen in straight sets.
The third-seed Indo-Czech pair carved out a 6-3 6-1 win over the wild card entrants to make it to the last four of the USD 1 million event.
Paes and Damm, who triumphed in the US Open last year, will have their first tough match of the tournament in the semifinal as they meet the second seed Mark Knowles of Bahamas and and Daniel Nestor of Canada, who had a comfortable 6-3 6-0 win over Sebastian Grosjean and Gael Melzer of France.
The Indo-Czech combination saw of the initial challenge from the Belgian pair and converted two of the four break points that came their way in the first set.
They stepped up their game to a few notches and did not allow their opponents any chance of a comeback in the second set and sealed it 6-1.
In the other semifinal, Mikhail Youzhny of Russia and Nenad Zimonijic of Serbia will face the English pair of Andy Murray and Jamie Murray.
