| Tuesday, 1 July 2008 Written by Michael Burke Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy remain on track for a fifth Grand Slam doubles crown after brushing aside the reigning Australian Open champions in the quarter-finals.
Paes and Dlouhy, the ninth seeds, beat Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram 6-3, 6-3, 6-3. In the other quarter-final, Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic, the number two seeds, defeated Kevin Anderson and Robert Lindstedt 7-6(7-5), 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3.
But Paes and Dluohy were the class act of the day, playing effortless and effective doubles: the serves were swift, the volleys instinctive and the teamwork timed to perfection.
The ninth seeds had done their homework and were far more economical with their break point opportunities over the match, taking their one chance in the first set and converting two from three in the second. Erlich and Ram, on the other hand, failed to convert any of their eight break-point chances. The experienced head of Paes and the quick hands of Dlouhy were too much for third seeds in the final set and they wrapped up the match 6-3.
The court 11 quarter-final between Nestor/Zimonjic and Anderson/Lindstedt could have been mistaken for a two-on-two basketball match given the height of the players. The height factor was the main reason why the first and third sets were settled in a tie-break, because it is was virtually impossible to get the return ball from the serves back in play.
Thirty-two aces all-round tells its own story. Patience was required to win because the players would not drop serve easily. Just one in four returns were put back in play.
Zimonjic and Nestor, both winners of major doubles titles, showed their experience by holding serve and capitalising on their opponents’ loose service games.
The only two break of serve opportunities of the match came from the clever returns of Zimonjic and Nestor in the second and fourth sets. Sure enough, the second seeds squeezed a handful of opportunities and despite a spirited comeback from Anderson and Lindstedt to force a fourth set, the revival was stamped out. After the superb ladies’ quarter-finals on No.1 Court, Jonas Bjorkman, the three times doubles champion, and his latest team mate Kevin Ullyet of Zimbabwe, defeated Austria’s Alexander Peya and Germany’s Philipp Petzchner 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2. Throughout the 3 hours 40 minute match, the 36-year-olds dazzled the crowds, leaping around the net picking off their opponents' shots and also serving and returning well. The match was tight, particularly in the fourth set when Peya and Petzchner clinched a tight tie-break. In the fifth, Bjorkman required treatment on his sore neck but recovered as the eighth seeds eventually prevailed. They will now face the Bryan brothers in the semi-finals.
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