Leander Paes one win way from ending men's doubles title drought

India's Leander Paes and his German partner Andre Begemann made it to the finals of the St Petersburg Open by recording a straight-set victory over the Russian pair of Mikhail Elgin and Alexander Kudryavtsev in the men's doubles event.

The Indo-German duo defeated the Russian pair 6-3 7-6 in a match that lasted around one and half hours. Paes and Begemann won the first set in a canter in just 35 minutes. However, the Russian pair came from a break back 0-2 down in the second set as they raced to a 5-2 lead.

However, the veteran Indian and his German partner then won five consecutive games to wrap up the set 7-5. Paes had last won an ATP men s doubles title, along with South Africa's Raven Klaasen, in the 2015 New Zealand Open.