While Sania Mirza, Rohan Bopanna, and Mahesh Bhupathi have been playing at the Madrid Open this week, Leander Paes has been plying his trade at the Challenger circuit to gain some valuable confidence in a season which has been highly inconsistent. And it has proved to be a smart decision as he reached the doubles final of the $100, 000 Busan Open Challenger on Friday, alongside Sam Groth.
The 42-year-old was not the only Indian in action. In the same tournament, Purav Raja and Divj Sharan went down in the other semi-final.
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Nedunchezhiyan reigns supreme in Karshi
But for Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan, it has been a day to remember. The left-hander in partnership with Spain’s Enrique Lopez-Perez, won the doubles title at the $50, 000 Karshi Challenger, beating Aleksandre Metreveli and Dmitry Popko, 6-1, 6-4.
This is the 27-year-old’s second consecutive title after conquering the Nanjing Challenger with Saketh Myneni less than two weeks back. Overall, this is his third career doubles title at this level.
The Indo-Spanish combine had been impressive throughout the tournament and had even upset the fourth seeds Aleksandr Nedovyesov and Denys Molchanov in straight sets in the semi-finals. That win gave them a great impetus ahead of the final during which they did not concede a single service game.
Leander’s second Challenger final this season
At Busan, the 17-time Grand Slam champion Paes will seek to win his first title of the season on Sunday. His new partnership with the big-serving Sam Groth continues to thrive as the top seeds beat the unseeded local pair of Ji Sung Nam and Min-Kyu Song, 6-3, 6-4.
The Indo-Australian team has been in terrific form and had finished as runners-up after a hard-fought final at the Mexican Challenger just a month back.
They will now take on the second seeds Sanchai Ratiwatana and Sonchat Ratiwatana of Thailand in the summit clash. The Thai twins dashed hopes of Raja and Sharan with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over the third seeds.
An ecstatic Paes shared his joy on the social media after his semi-final victory:
