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Final countdown

The "Indian Express" will contest their second consecutive Grand Slam doubles final this evening, after losing in the Australian Open final in January.

Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi take on Goran Ivanisevic and Jeff Tarango on center court, after the rain-delayed men's singles semi-final, between Andre Agassi and Dominik Hrbaty, and the women's final, between Steffi Graf and Martina Hingis, in their bid to win their first Grand Slam title of the year.

Ivanisevic and Tarango have been on a roll at the French Open, having won all their five matches in straight sets. They defeated two of the best doubles teams, 12th seeds Lareau-O'Brien, and fifth seeds Bjorkman-Rafter, on their way to the final.

When their second round doubles score was flashed, former champion John McEnroe, while doing commentary, had said, "The pair should enjoy it while it lasts - they ain't gonna go too far." Well, after their winning streak, they have made Mr Mac eat his whole foot.

Tarango has three titles in doubles this year in smaller tournaments, in the company of Daniel Vacek. The pair are ranked ninth in doubles, and won the Auckland, St.Petersburg and Tokyo titles. Tarango has never been in a Grand Slam final. Ivanisevic, however, was in the French Open doubles final with Korda almost a decade back in 1990. He looked good in a few tournaments last year, pulling off some upsets with his Croatian Davis Cup doubles partner Sasa Hirszon. This year he has played only three doubles tournaments and has just one win in 1999.

Tarango is a very good doubles player, as his 26th ranking would indicate. Currently he is at a career-high ranking, and the 31-year-old American has nine doubles titles under his belt. He has played in the company of many partners (Vizner, Braasch, Raoux, Palmer, Vacek, Nijssen, Koves, Wibier, Lareau, Delaitre, Ondruska, Mirnyi, Knippschils, Roditi, Suk, etc, in the last two years). For some reason, he has not been able to keep a permanent partner.

Tarango played against the Indians at the US Open a couple of years back, alongwith Gillaume Raoux of France, but the pair lost in a third set tie-breaker.

The final promises an entertaining contest, and the Indians will have to be on guard against these talented left-handers, who are bound to cause tactical problems for them. The Indians will need to plan well and use their experience to counter the double left hand threat.

Earlier this week, Paes and Bhupathi were seen playing with their left hands during a practice session. Sure, they wern't anticipating this final!.

If Ivanisevic and Tarango pull off an upset, they could well become one of the lowest ranked (162+26=188) doubles teams ever to win a Grand Slam title!

EARLIER REPORT:
Paes, Bhupathi storm into French Open final