Paes-Damm in semi-final of Gerry Weber Open

Halle, Germany, June 15 (UNI) Top seeds Leander Paes and his Czech partner Martin Damm stormed into the semi-finals of the Gerry Weber Open after beating unseeded Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany and Robin Soderling of Sweden 6-7(8), 7-6(10), 10-7 in nail-biting tie here.

The Indo-Czech pair took just over two hours to quell the challenge of their unheralded opponents before finally emerging victorious.

They will now meet the third seeded duo of Simon Aspelin (Sweden) and Julian Knowle (Austria) who beat unseeded Nicolas Kiefer of Germany and Andrei Pavel of Romania 7-5, 7-6 (5) in another tough quarter-final match.

The Indo-Czech duo won the 2006 US Open and since teaming up last year, they have a winning record of 4-2 in the finals after winnig the Indian Wells and Rotterdam title. Besides the formidable pair also reached the final in Doha.

UNI