It was a mixed day for India at the US Open men's doubles as Leander Paes and partner Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia and Montenegro stumbled at the first hurdle, while Mahesh Bhupathi and Martin Damm entered the second round with an easy victory at the Flushing Meadows in New York on Wednesday.
Bhupathi and Damm of Czech Republic, seeded seventh in the final Slam of the year, beat the French duo Gael Monfils-Cyril Saulnier 6-1, 6-3 in the first round.
They will next face Croatia's Ivan Ljubicic and Mario Ancic. The Croatian pair had beaten Paes-Bhupathi in an epic bronze medal match at the Athens Olympics.
The fifth seeds, Paes-Zimonjic, meanwhile, fell to the American pair of Amer Delic and Jeff Morrison 7-6 (6), 7-6 (2) to cause the biggest upset in the men's doubles draw.
In a closely fought contest, the Americans kept their cool and served better under pressure. They hit 11 aces in a game that saw very few errors from either team.
