By IANS
Shanghai : Leander Paes of India and Martin Damm of the Czech Republic suffered their first loss, but it did not affect their chances as they had already entered the semi-finals of the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai Thursday.
The Indo-Czech pair who won their first two matches lost the third in Gold Group 3-6, 4-6 to Paul Hanley and Kevin Ullyett.
Paes and Damm, seeded sixth, beat defending champions Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi in their opening encounter and made the semi-final with a 6-4, 7-5 win over the Israeli pair of Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram.
Paes is attempting to win his third Masters Cup, one of his earlier title wins having come with fellow Indian Mahesh Bhupathi.
Earlier Bjorkman and Mirnyi, playing their final match together after three successful years, saw their Shanghai title defence end despite beating Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram 6-4, 3-6, 10-7 (match tie-breaker). Hanley and Ullyett are now certain to qualify for the semi-finals.
Bjorkman and Mirnyi, who have been a force on the ATP circuit since combining three years ago, were playing their final match together. From February 2008, Bjorkman will team with Zimbabwe’s Ullyett. The Swede will miss the Australian Open to be with his wife Petra, who is expecting their second child in mid January.
Hanley and Ullyett, who knew they had qualified before taking the court, celebrated their semi-final berth with a win over the previously unbeaten Damm and Paes. Both teams are playing their final tournament together. Should they both win their semi-finals, they would meet again in the final.