Shanghai beckons but no luck for Paes at Paris

I had been away for two days and got to know the news late - Leander Paes and Martin Damm have secured berths in next month's Tennis Masters Cup.

But the duo, currently at number five in the ATP Doubles Race, will not be fancying their chances at Shanghai, bogged down as they are by a string of opening round defeats in recent matches.

The newly qualified Masters Cup pair bowed out of the BNP Paribas Masters in the first round on Monday.

Their conquerors Jeff Coetzee of South Africa and Dutchman Rogier Wassen prevailed 11-9 in the super-tiebreaker after the teams split the first two sets 6-3 and 6-7(3).

Paes, who won the Paris Masters in 1998 with Mahesh Bhupathi, and Damm frittered away matchpoints in the second set as well as in the super-tiebreaker.