<p>Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna saved a match point to enter the doubles final of the ATP World Tour Finals after defeating Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek via Super tie-breaker, here on Sunday.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The fifth-seeded Indian pair halted the winning run of the Indo-Czech combination with a 4-6, 6-1, 12-10 win in the semifinals and in the process avenged the defeat of the Shanghai Masters final last month.<br /><br />Third-seeded Paes and Stepanek was the only pair to enter the semifinals unbeaten after having topped Group A with three wins from as many matches. Bhupathi and Bopanna, who are making their debut at the finale as a pair, now have a chance to create history as no Indian has won the year-end championship since Vijay Amritraj’s triumph in 1977.<br /><br />The Indians will face the winners of the other semifinal between English-Danish combine of Jonathan Marray and Frederik Nielsen and Spaniards Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez in Monday’s championship match. <br /><br />In the first set, Paes and Stepanek converted their fourth break point opportunity on Bhupathi’s serve, for a 4-3 lead. Serving for the set at 5-4, Stepanek hit an ace to seal the 36-minute opener.<br /><br />Bhupathi and Bopanna put Paes under pressure in the third game of the second set. Paes saved two breakpoints when down at 0-40 but hit a backhand volley into the net to gift his fellow Indians a 3-1 lead.<br /><br />Bhupathi and Bopanna extended their lead to 5-1 after two terrific returns in Stepanek’s service game. Bhupathi closed out the 25-minute set with a hold to 15.<br /><br />The Super tie-breaker was a tight affair with the two teams locked at 3-3 and then 8-8. Stepanek served out wide to Bopanna, who lobbed too short to give Paes a smash winner. Bhupathi saved one match point with a backhand volley and at 9-9, on Bopanna’s serve and hit another volley winner down the middle. <br /><br />Paes saved the match point with a forehand volley winner, but Stepanek volleyed a backhand into the net at 10-10. Bhupathi, serving on his team’s second match point, served down the middle, Stepanek returned to Bopanna, who struck a high forehand volley for a winner.<br /><br />Del Potro stuns Federer<br /><br />On Saturday, towering Argentine Juan Martin del Potro snapped Roger Federer's three-year unbeaten sequence at the World Tour Finals to earn a semifinal against world number one Novak Djokovic.<br /><br />Del Potro, fresh from beating the Swiss in the Basel final a fortnight ago, claimed a 7-6, 4-6, 6-3 victory at the O2 Arena to guarantee himself runner-up spot in Group B with a 2-1 record, the same as defending champion Federer who will meet Andy Murray for third time in London this year in the other semifinal.<br /><br />David Ferrer beat Janko Tipsarevic 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 in the last round-robin match.</p>
<p>Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna saved a match point to enter the doubles final of the ATP World Tour Finals after defeating Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek via Super tie-breaker, here on Sunday.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The fifth-seeded Indian pair halted the winning run of the Indo-Czech combination with a 4-6, 6-1, 12-10 win in the semifinals and in the process avenged the defeat of the Shanghai Masters final last month.<br /><br />Third-seeded Paes and Stepanek was the only pair to enter the semifinals unbeaten after having topped Group A with three wins from as many matches. Bhupathi and Bopanna, who are making their debut at the finale as a pair, now have a chance to create history as no Indian has won the year-end championship since Vijay Amritraj’s triumph in 1977.<br /><br />The Indians will face the winners of the other semifinal between English-Danish combine of Jonathan Marray and Frederik Nielsen and Spaniards Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez in Monday’s championship match. <br /><br />In the first set, Paes and Stepanek converted their fourth break point opportunity on Bhupathi’s serve, for a 4-3 lead. Serving for the set at 5-4, Stepanek hit an ace to seal the 36-minute opener.<br /><br />Bhupathi and Bopanna put Paes under pressure in the third game of the second set. Paes saved two breakpoints when down at 0-40 but hit a backhand volley into the net to gift his fellow Indians a 3-1 lead.<br /><br />Bhupathi and Bopanna extended their lead to 5-1 after two terrific returns in Stepanek’s service game. Bhupathi closed out the 25-minute set with a hold to 15.<br /><br />The Super tie-breaker was a tight affair with the two teams locked at 3-3 and then 8-8. Stepanek served out wide to Bopanna, who lobbed too short to give Paes a smash winner. Bhupathi saved one match point with a backhand volley and at 9-9, on Bopanna’s serve and hit another volley winner down the middle. <br /><br />Paes saved the match point with a forehand volley winner, but Stepanek volleyed a backhand into the net at 10-10. Bhupathi, serving on his team’s second match point, served down the middle, Stepanek returned to Bopanna, who struck a high forehand volley for a winner.<br /><br />Del Potro stuns Federer<br /><br />On Saturday, towering Argentine Juan Martin del Potro snapped Roger Federer's three-year unbeaten sequence at the World Tour Finals to earn a semifinal against world number one Novak Djokovic.<br /><br />Del Potro, fresh from beating the Swiss in the Basel final a fortnight ago, claimed a 7-6, 4-6, 6-3 victory at the O2 Arena to guarantee himself runner-up spot in Group B with a 2-1 record, the same as defending champion Federer who will meet Andy Murray for third time in London this year in the other semifinal.<br /><br />David Ferrer beat Janko Tipsarevic 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 in the last round-robin match.</p>