Paes-Raymond in semi-finals

Second seeds Leander Paes and Lisa Raymond stormed into the semi-finals of the mixed doubles in the US Open tennis championships.

The Indo-American duo defeated Elena Tatarkova of Ukraine and Mark Knowles of The Bahamas 6-2, 6-3. This will be the pair's first mixed doubles semi-final after their Wimbledon triumph way back in 1999.

In the first set, Paes/Raymond got an early break in the third game, winning four straight points off Tatarkova's serve. The duo got another break in the seventh game again off Tatarkova's serve to wrap up the set.

Paes/Raymond, were in trouble in the second set as Paes lost his serve in the second game. But the duo got back on level terms in the next game breaking Tatarkova's serve. After this, Paes/Raymond broke Knowles's serve in the fifth and ninth games to win the match.

Paes/Raymond won 69 points as compared to 49 by the rivals. The Indo-American duo converted five of the six break chances they got against Tatarkova/Knowles, who could just manage one of the six chances they had.

The duo will now face third seeds American pair of Kimberly Po-Messerli and Donald Johnson in the semi-final. In the other semis, the top seeded Australian pair of Todd Woodbridge and Rennae Stubbs will face fifth seed Ai Sugiyama of Japan and Ellis Ferreira of South Africa.

Earlier report:
Paes-Raymond in round three