Paes-Bhupathi make winning start

MELBOURNE, JAN 21: India's ace doubles pair of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi kicked off their Australian Open campaign in style with a...

MELBOURNE, JAN 21: India’s ace doubles pair of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi kicked off their Australian Open campaign in style with an easy win against Dutch pair of Edwin Kempes and Peter Wessels at Melbourne today.

The World number two duo, who became the first Indian pair to get the top billing in a Grand Slam, beat Kempes-Wessels 6-4, 6-2.

Paes-Bhupathi, who reached the semifinals here last year, were too good for the Dutch duo and took control of the match from the start to record a comfortable victory.

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The Indian duo, who pulled out of the year-end World Doubles Championship after a fine season when Paes aggravated a bone spur injury in his left leg, did not have a good start to the season when they lost in the quarter-finals in the Qatar Open at Doha.

Australia’s former World number one Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge, expected to provide the challenge to the Indian duo after crack Dutch pair Jacco Eltingh-Paul Haarhuis broke their partnership owing to Eltigh’s retirement, struggled tobeat the unseeded pair of Dinu Pescariu (Romania) and Nenad Zimonjic (Yugoslavia).

The Woodies, former world number one in doubles and seeded second here, came from a set down to win 3-6, 6-3, 9-7.

Fifth seeds Jonas Bjorkman-Patrick Rafter also made a winning start, beating Neville Godwin-Marcos Ondruska 6-2, 6-2.

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Earlier, the third ranked Mark Knowles (Bah)-Daniel Nestor (Can), fourth seeded Ellis Ferreira (RSA)-Rick Leach (USA) and seventh ranked Delaitre and Fabrice Santoro of France reached the second round yesterday.