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Paes-Navratilova out of US Open

September 10, 2004 10:04 IST

Eighth seeds Martina Navratilova and Leander Paes crashed out of the 2004 US Open in the semi-finals, going down to Alicia Molik and Todd Woodbridge in two sets and a tiebreaker, 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (3-10)

With the match tied at a set apiece, that match went straight to the tiebreaker, as per new US Open rules introduced a few years ago. Under the changed rules, the team that wins 10 points first wins the third set and thus, the match.

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Navratilova made no secret of her dissatisfaction with the rule, saying it was unfair to the players, the spectators and the game. "It's totally different playing a third set and playing a tiebreaker, where every point is a break point; in a full set, you actually have to win three points to even get to a break point," she said.

The match was also marred by strong gusts, leftovers from Hurricane Frances, which passed through the New York region September 8 and rained out Wednesday's play.

 

Tanmaya Kumar Nanda in New York