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Srinath-Panja in doubles semis

Shailesh Soni

The Indian challenge at the Gold Flake Open is not finished yet as one might think following the exit of Leander Peas. Indian hopes are still being kept alive by the wild card team of Prahlad Srinath and Saurav Panja. The duo turned in a heart-warming display late last night to win their doubles quarter-final and snatch a place in the last four stage of the tournament.

Srinath and Saurav defeated the unseeded pair of Kyrill Ivanov-Smolenski and Orlin Stanoytche, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(3) in a thriller. Smolenski and Stanoytche are quite possibly the team with one of the longest names in ATP doubles history.

The win earned them 15 race points and 75 entry points and will raise their doubles rankings considerably.

Srinath and Panja face Tuomas Ketola and Oleg Ogorodov, who defeated the second seeded team of Martin Damm and Yevgeny Kafelnikov, the only seeded team left in the tournament.

The second seeds lost 7-5, 1-6, 6-3.

After the second seeds won the second set, everyone thought Kafelnikov and Damn had regained their rhythm and it would be a matter of time before they would wrap up the third set and take the match. But Ketola and Ogorodov served and volleyed well in the decider to score a remarkable upset and end a disappointing tournament for Kafelnikov.

The crowds at this tournament have seen seeded players fall like nine pins and the doubles tournament has seen all the three wildcard teams reach the quarter-finals, which is quite a rarity in ATP doubles.