Bhupathi-Knowles reach semis of Cincinnati Masters

Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles inched closer to their second successive ATP Masters title by reaching the semifinals of the Cincinnati Masters with a straight set win over Michael Llodra and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Cincinnati.

Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles inched closer to their second successive ATP Masters title by reaching the semifinals of the Cincinnati Masters with a straight set win over Michael Llodra and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Cincinnati.

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Winners of last week's Montreal Masters, the fourth seeded Indo-Bahamian pair edged past the unseeded French pair 7-6(6), 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the $3,000,000 hard court event.

Bhupathi and Knowles saved four of the five break points while converting two of three opportunities to seal victory in 83 minutes.

In their second straight Cincinnati semi-final, they will face ATP World Tour Champions Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic, who defeated sixth-seeded Poles Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski 7-6(6), 6-7(6), 10-4 in their quarterfinals.

Leander Paes and his partner Lukas Dlouhy were ousted after their second round defeat.