Rohan Bopanna [ Images ] and Mahesh Bhuapthi advanced to the second round of the men's doubles at the Australian Open [ Images ] with their respective partners, in Melbourne [ Images ], on Wednesday.
Bopanna and Rajeev Ram defeated the Australian pair of Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios.
The 12th seeds won 6-2, 6-4.
Fifth seeds Mahesh Bhupathi [ Images ] and Canadian Daniel Nestor [ Images ] had things as easy while scoring a 6-2, 6-4 victory over the Spanish pair of Pablo Andujar and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in their first round match.
- Drama unfolds as Somdev, Sania crash out
Second seeds Leander Paes [ Images ] and his Czech partner Radek Stepanek begin the defence of their title against South Africa's [ Images ] Kevin Anderson and Isarel's Jonathan Erlich on Thursday.
Bopanna-Ram take on Italians Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini next.
Earlier in the day, Somdev Devvarman [ Images ] and Sania Mirza [ Images ] went down fighting in the men's singles and women's doubles respectively.
Somdev frittered away a two-set lead and lost 7-6(10), 6-3, 1-6, 0-6, 5-7 to world No 26 and 24th seed Jerzy Janowicz in a marathon men's singles second round match that lasted four hours, while Sania Mirza and her American partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands suffered a shock first round exit.
Tenth seeds Sania-Bethanie, who came into tournament after winning the Brisbane [ Images ] international, were ousted by the unseeded Spanish team of Silvia Soler-Espinosa and Carla Suarez Navarro [ Images ], beaten 6-7(4), 3-6.
Sania will now compete in the mixed doubles with new partner Bob Bryan.
Image: Mahesh Bhupathi with his daughter Saira, after he and Daniel Nestor won their opening men's doubles match at the Australian Open on Wednesday.
Photograph: Graham Denholm/Getty Images
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