Men's tennis: India fight back to stun Thai twins

Defending champions and top seeds Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi saved seven match points in the second set to complete an amazing comeback and win the men's doubles title 5-7, 7-6, 6-3.

Paes and Bhupathi certainly gave the partisan crowd palpitations at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex as they flirted with defeat against twin brothers Sanchai and Sonchat Ratiwatana, the No 2 seeds from Thailand.

However the greater experience of the Indian pair - who have a combined world doubles ranking 183 places better than their younger opponents - eventually told in the second set with Paes leading by example with some inspired shot play.

Some poor play by the Indians had given the Ratiwatana's three match points on Bhupathi's serve at 5-6, only for Paes to save all three with some fantastic net play and claw them back to deuce.

Three further match points were saved in similar fashion, the fifth somewhat nervously when Bhupathi left a service return which dropped fractionally long, before the pair brought their fans to their feet by forcing a tiebreak.

A lob by Paes resulted in a mini break on the first point, prompting more chest banging from the Indians, but again the Thai pair refused to buckle, edging in front before more inspired play from Paes gave India a set point at 6-5.

Bhupathi's weak return wasted that chance and the Ratiwatana brothers earned a seventh match point, only for Paes to again save it at the net. Paes then smashed the ball out of court before the Thai's double faulted to lose the set.

Both pairs left the court for a toilet break, but before the final set could begin the rain began to fall on centre court and play was suspended, cutting the tension which had built to a crescendo as the set neared the end.

Little more than half an hour later the players reappeared under blue skies with Paes and Bhupathi immediately picking up where they had left off, breaking the twins to love to lead 2-0.

However Bhupathi immediately threw away his own serve to 15 to lose the advantage, but Paes once again seized the match by the scruff of the neck and they broke the twins to lead 3-1, one they would not relinquish this time.

It was fittingly left to Paes to serve out the match in what is his fourth Asian Games appearance, although not before Bhupathi's little dink over the net had saved a break point, after a marathon two hours and 44 minutes on court.

The victory had seemed destined to be a lot easier after Paes and Bhupathi raced into a 3-1 lead in the first set, but the Ratiwatanas reeled off three games in a row and then broke Bhupathi to take the set in 44 minutes.

Paes and Bhupathi though came out fighting in the second set with much chest banging together after holding serve to level at 1-1, before the Thais crucially dug deep in a long third game to hold serve.

The Thais had to save another break point in the seventh game, before in the next Bhupathi recovered from 15-40 down on his serve to level the set at 4-4 and it remained on serve to 6-5 in the Ratiwatanas' favour.

Ultimately though their brave effort would end in defeat, denying another pair of Thai brothers a gold medal in the event after the success of Paradorn and Narathorn Srichaphan on home soil in Bangkok in 1998.

Paes will have little time to recover before taking to the court for the mixed doubles final with partner Sania Mirza, who lost the women's singles final earlier to Zheng Jie of China.

15th Asian Games, Doha 2006