Paes eyes crucial break at Baroda

VADODARA, April 12: In a multi-million dollar sport like tennis, there are certain things even money cannot buy. Perhaps, that is the primar...

VADODARA, April 12: In a multi-million dollar sport like tennis, there are certain things even money cannot buy. Perhaps, that is the primary reason why the Indian great, Leander Paes, after his semi-final showing at the $430,000 Gold Flake Open in Chennai last week, chose to play in a lesser tournament — moneywise than pointwise — on a surface which he still wants to term it as his favourite.

Paes earned close to a million dollars last year and is among the top 50 money earners so far this year on the ATP Tour. Yet, on the grass courts of the sprawling Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Limited (IPCL) complex, the trials and tribulations of a shoulder injury notwithstanding, he would be eyeing the crucial 70 points which could help him break into the top 100.The week in Chennai earned him around 75 singles points which should take his ranking from 130 to close to 105. The maximum points here would help him cross the imaginary line that separates a player from a serious contender.The top-seeded star,however, has a very sticky first-round customer in Briton Barry Cowan, ranked 311, who can be tough nut to crack on grass. If he crosses that he runs into the winner of Max Mirnyi (381) and Jim Thomas (330) and then a potential quarter-final clash with eight-seed Italian Filippo Veglio. If he survives all that it will be Oleg Ogordov, seeded third, in the semifinal. The Uzbek had beaten Paes at the Chennai Challenger a couple of years ago.

The two factors that will accompany Paes from Chennai will be the confidence gained from the semifinals and the acclimitisation to the withering heat. Vadodara is a smouldering cauldron, as it were, and the players seem to spend more time with the doctor than on the courts, treating heat-related illnesses. Apart from that is the losing battle with Indian cuisine which has targetted junior Wimbledon champion Wesley Whitehouse.

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Meanwhile, some first-round matches have thrown up some interesting clashes, particularly the Mahesh Bhupathi-Prahlad Srinath one and the fightbetween two wild cards, Syed Fazaluddin and Sandeep Kirtane. The other wild card Vijay Kannan goes up against Frenchman Anthony Dupius, ranked 333.

With the Paes-Bhupathi pair opting out of doubles, the draw has a forlorn look. Two Indian pairs, Vijay Kannan-Rishi Sridhar and Syed Fazaluddin-Prahlad Srinath have been given wild cards with Max Mirnyi (Brs)-Peter Tramacchi (Aus) being the top seeds.

Results (final round qualifying; first named qualifies for the main draw):

Benoit Carelli (Ita) bt Oliver Marach (Aut) 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3; Myles Wakefield (Bri) bt Rishi Sridhar (Ind) 6-2, 6-2; Sander Groen (Ned) bt Christian Tuscher (Aut) 6-4, 6-4; Jan Krejci (Cro) bt Harsh Mankad (Ind) 6-1, 6-4;

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Following are the seeds (rankings in brackets): Leander Paes, Ind (130); Peter Tramacchi, Aus ((157); Oleg Ogorodov, Uzb (158); Peter Luxa, Cze (195); Eyal Ran, Isr (214); David Nainkin, RSA (269); Mahesh Bhupathi, Ind (287); Filippo Veglio, Ita (293)

Points and Prize money in US $:

Singles: (Round of 32)1 point, $520; (Round of 16) 8, $860; Quarters 15, $1465; Semifinals 30, $2,600; Runner-up 50, $4,240; Winner 70; $7,200.

Doubles: (Round of 16) 8 points, $370, quarterfinals 15, $630; semifinals: 30, $1,050; Runners-up 50, $1,820; Winner 70, $3,100.