Chennai, Jan 8 (IANS): Indians will have something to cheer about on Sunday as Leander Paes, partnering Janko Tipsarevich made it to the doubles final, defeating second seeded Americans Rajeev Ram and Scott Lipsky 6-2, 6-7 (1), 10-7 in the Aircel Chennai Open here on Saturday.

The third seeded Indian-Serbian pair's victory compensated for the loss of top seeds Rohan Bopanna and Mahesh Bhupathi who went down 6-4, 3-6, 8-10 to No.4 tandem of Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram of Israel.

The Bopanna-Bhupathi combination, formed just before the tournament, did not quite look the part after winning the first set. The Israelis kept up the pressure on the Indians and went on to win a tight tie-break.

In contrast, Paes and Tipsarevic, coming together at the start of the new season, combined better, especially in the match tie-break that the Serb finished with a delightful placement between the rival players.

The results:

Doubles (semi-finals): 4-Jonathan Erlich / Andy Ram (ISR) bt 1-Mahesh Bhupathi / Rohan Bopanna (IND) 4-6, 6-3, 10-8; 2-Leander Paes (IND) / Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) bt Rajeev Ram / Scott Lipsky (USA) 6-2, 6-7 (1), 10-7.