JOIN USThe ace Indian pair of Paes and Bhupathi, who teamed up together after nine years in a bid to add the only Grand Slam title — the Australian Open — missing in their cupboard, scored a fighting three-set win over 13th seeds Granollers and Robredo 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in an engrossing third-round clash that lasted for an hour and 52 minutes.
Things, however, did not fall in place for Bopanna and Qureshi as they went down fighting to France’s Michael Llodra and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia 6-3, 6-7, 6-7 in another tough third-round match which spanned over two hours.
Third-seeded pair of Paes and Bhupathi started the match positively as they pocketed the first set in just 33 minutes. But Granollers and Robredo made a strong comeback in the second to take the encounter into the decider which the Indians won after a 42-minute battle.
In the quarterfinals, Paes and Bhupathi will play Llodra and Zimonjic, who held on to their nerves to outplay the Bopanna-Qureshi pair.