Dubai: Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna, who need to improve their rankings to earn a direct entry into the London Olympics, stormed into the summit clash of the ATP Dubai Open with a straight sets win on Friday.
The fourth-seeded Indian pair of Bhupathi and Bopanna edged past the giant-killing Austrian pair of Julian Knowle and Alexanderin Peya 7-6 (2) 7-6 (7) in the semi-finals of the USD 1,700,475 hard court event.
Knowle and Peya had shocked the top-seeded pair of Michael Llodra and Nenad Zimonjic in the quarter-finals.
Either Bopanna, ranked 11th, or Bhupathi (15) need to be in the top 10 in the ATP doubles rankings to have a direct entry in the Olympics competition.
A top-10 player has the liberty to choose his partner, irrespective of his ranking.
The unseeded pair of Leander Paes and Tipsarevic has already exited from the tournament after a 4-6 5-7 defeat in the first round against second seeds Robert Lindstedt and Horia Teacu.
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