The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Paes-Black falter at final hurdle

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Tuesday, Jul 07, 2009
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Paes-Black falter at final hurdle

London: A 10th Grand Slam title eluded Indian ace Leander Paes’ after he and partner Cara Black suffered a straight-set defeat in the Wimbledon mixed doubles final.

The top seed Indo-Zimbabwean pair lost 7-5, 6-3 to ninth seeds Mark Knowles and Anna-Lena Groenefeld in one hour and 28 minutes, here on Sunday night.

Paes and Black began on a confident note and broke their opponents twice — fifth and seventh game — to race to a 5-2 lead.

Taking control

But capitalising on the top seed’s unforced errors, Knowles and his German partner changed the complexion of the match by winning five consecutive games.

With the momentum in their favour, Knowles and Groenefeld continued their aggressive play and seized the initiative early in the second set, breaking Paes and then holding their own serve to take a 3-0 lead.

From there on the set went with serves and although Paes and Black tried hard for a comeback, it was not to be their day. — PTI

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