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Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek went through several anxious moments before getting the better of Daniele Bracciali and Jonathan Erlich in the first round of the men’s doubles at Wimbledon on Friday, even as the pair of Mahesh Bhupathi and Daniela Hantuchova lost in the mixed doubles.
Fourth seeds Paes-Stepanek, who led by a set on Thursday before rain forced the match to be suspended, met with stiff resistance after it resumed on Friday. They dropped the third set but combined well in the fourth to beat the Italian-Israeli pair 7-6(6), 6-4, 6-7(1), 6-4 in a little over three hours.
They next face of Britain’s Jamie Delgado and Australia’s Matthew Ebden.
The Indo-Slovakian pair of Bhupathi-Hantuchova lost 7-6(2), 4-6, 4-6 to Mark Knowles of Bahamas and Sabine Lisicki of Germany in the first round.
Bhupathi's challenge in men's doubles is still alive as he has moved into the second round with Autrian partner Julian Knowle.
They meet Amercian Nicholas Monroe and Simon Stadler of Germany.
Image: Radek Stepanek and Leander Paes
Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images