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Bhupati-Lucic storm into finals

By Our Correspondent

Revenge came sweet for Mahesh Bhupati, as he partnered teen sensation Mirjana Lucic to a win in the semifinals of the Wimbledon mixed doubles event over Venus Williams and Justin Gimelstob.

The fifth seeded pair won 6-4, 7-5, on Court No 1.

The Gimelstob-Williams pairing had earlier pulled off a rousing win over top-seeds Leander Paes and Larisa Neiland.

Bhupathi and Lucic have twice been stretched to three sets in course of this competition, where they are having a dream run. However, in the semis, they did it in two, playing brilliant tennis in the first set, slackening off a bit in the second before tightening their game and shutting out the American pair in straight sets.

Bhupati and Lucic now await the final, where they will take on either the Dutch pair of Paul Haarhuis and Caroline Vis, or the Fernando Meligeni-Serena Williams partnership.

Meanwhile, Australia's champion doubles pairing of Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge will hunt for a record sixth consecutive Wimbledon title, after going into the final with a four set win over the fifth-seeded pairing of fellow Australian Pat Rafter and Sweden's Jonas Bjorkman.

The Woodies won 6-4, 1-6, 6-2, 7-5, to set up a meeting with top-seeded Dutch pair Jacco Eltingh and Paul Haarhuis, who won 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 against Zimbabwe's Wayne Black and Canadian Sebastien Lareau.

The Eltingh-Haarhuis pair had overtaken the Woodies in the world rankings just earlier this year, and a win here for the Australian pair could reverse that ranking.

In head to head meetings, the Woodies edge their Dutch rivals 8-7 advantage. In fact, the two met up in the Wimbledon final last year, with the Aussie pair winning in four sets.

If they win, it will be the 10th Grand Slam title and 51st career title for the famed Aussie pair.

Ramesh Krishnan of India and Jeremy Bates of England, defending champions in the over-35 invitation doubles event, lost 2-6, 6-2, 3-6 to Gene Mayer and Tim Wilkinson in the semifinals.

Earlier story:
India number two Mahesh Bhupathi and Mirjana Lucic, the Croatian teen sensation, stormed into the semifinal of the mixed doubles event at Wimbledon.

However, India’s other hope Leander Paes, partnering Larissa Neiland of Latvia and top seeded in the event, was beaten in straight sets earlier in the day.

The Bhupati-Lucic pair had a tough struggle, against Australian duo Wayne Arthurs and Kerry-Anne Guse. The fifth seeds finally prevailed, 7-6 (7-2), 3-6, 6-3.

This is the first time Bhupathi, who last year won the French Open in tandem with Rika Hiraki of Japan, has paired up with Lucic, touted as one of the rising stars of the teen brigade. Bhupathi broke up his pairing with Hiraki after poor performances at last year's Wimbledon and US Open.

The Paes-Neiland duo, however, just didn't have what it took to stop unseeded Americans Justin Gimelstob and Venus Williams, losing 3-6, 4-6.

The defeat was not without its share of irony. Paes lost in the first round of the men's singles, but his seedings indicated that he was expected to last the course in both versions of the doubles championships. His pairing with Bhupathi is ranked third in the world, while his partnership with Larissa Neiland was ranked first both at the French Open, and here at Wimbledon.

In the men's doubles event, however, the ace Indian pair went down to the pairing of Justin Gimelstob and Brian MacPhie in the second round.

He went further in the mixed doubles -- but guess who proves his nemesis? Gimelstob again -- this time pairing with the photogenic Venus Williams.

To add to the irony, it is the Gimelstob-Williams pairing that Bhupathi and Lucic, who appear to have a certain on-court synergy, will go up against in the semifinals. A good opportunity for Bhupathi to obtain a revenge that is pending on two counts -- or for Gimelstob to extend his dominance over two Indians who have made a niche for themselves at the highest levels of doubles competition.