It went to alphabetical order—AB finishing ahead of PQ.

Leander Paes—Aisam Qureshi did enough to entertain, while Mahesh Bhupathi and Mario Ancic went about the business of winning Saturday’s super quarter final 6-1, 5-7, 10-3 in the tournament’s biggest crowd-pulling doubles encounter.

With Denis Gremelmayr’s hip injury forcing the German pair along with Greul to pull out, Bhupathi and Ancic will now directly play the final.

Paes-Qureshi took care of the thrills in an entertaining second set after a soporific opening set saw them playing the good guests—the Pakistani more gracious in gifting points at the net than his more experienced partner to Bhupathi, host-proper and Ancic—whose face, smiling out of cut-outs sold the tournament to the city, making him host-virtuoso.

This pair kept the frills to a bare minimum—the Croat serving impeccably —ending as the only one of the four not to be broken, while Bhupathi set the tone for some steady returns as they picked the first set 6-1 after breaks in the first, third, fifth and seventh.

Playing in only his second match with Paes, Aisam Qureshi seemed the weaker link through the opener. But some on-court coaching— particularly Paes’ shrill yell demanding an Upar maar lob from Qureshi saw the younger pro hit his stride in the second set, managing some delectable volleys to match Paes’ reflexes.

The best rally of the match was easily at 3-3 in Set 2, Bhupathi chasing twice on the backcourt, Aisam volleying from deuce court and Paes finishing it with a smash to bisect his rivals. It is not often that Ancic will find himself out of a captivating picture, out-cheered by the crowds; but he had little to do as Paes, Bhupathi and Qureshi shared the exchanges in the second.

The third set, played according to new rules to a first-to-ten points race tie-break, saw Ancic take the initiative with his serve. They broke away from 3-1, and Bhupathi sealed it 10-3 with a backhand volley.