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Paes-Bhupati pair move ahead in world rankings

The Indian Davis Cup pair of Mahesh Bhupati and Leander Paes, in what must rank as arguably the most productive year for Indian tennis at the international level, added the $915,000 Pilot Pen ATP championship to their recent triumphs.

In the process, they defeated the pairing of Sebastian Lareau of Canada and Alex O'Brien of the US in the final at New Haven, Connecticut, 6-4, 6-7 (2-7), 6-2. And the win, which brings with it 280 ATP points, propelled the Indian duo to number eight in the world rankings. Interestingly, this is the second time that the Paes-Bhupati pair have downed the Lareau-O'Brien combine.

Interestingly, Mahesh Bhupati is now ranked 20th in world doubles, with 1934 ATP points, while Leander Paes is in the 24th spot with 1819 points. For the Pilot Pen title, the two received prize money to the tune of $62,000 apiece.

The Pilot Pen win is the seventh doubles title for the duo this year, ranking only behind the Super 9 win at Montreal in order of importance. Mahesh, of course, has figured in three more doubles wins, including the landmark French Open mixed doubles final.

In what is clearly a landmark year for the Indian duo, Bhupati and Paes have now recorded wins over the world number two pairing of Jacco Eltingh and Paul Haarhuis, and now downed the number three pair twice in as many meetings. In fact, the only defeat sustained by Bhupati and Paes in hardcourt doubles came in the ATP Super 9 series at Cincinnati earlier this month, when they went down in a thriller to the world's number one pair of Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde.

Given their dream run thus far - and both Bhupati and Paes indicated to the media that their run of successes comes from playing constantly together, and thus developing a better understanding of each other's game; also, of learning to read the game of top ranked opponents from playing against them on various surfaces - it seems a pretty sure bet that the duo will be seeded into the US Open. Paes has already entered the main draw of the year's last Grand Slam, while Bhupati will need to qualify.

However, both are likely to focus more intently on the doubles campaign at Flushing Meadows - for a solid performance there will, in turn, gain them entry into the end-of-season World Championships.

Paes, speaking for the duo, spelt out their goals more simply: "One, we need to work on getting a win over the Woodbridge-Woodford pair. And two, we need to play more and more tournaments together, and improve our own understanding and team skills."