London: Amid controversy over India's doubles pairing for the London Olympics, Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna, and Leander Paes and his South African partner Kevin Anderson were knocked out of the Aegon Championships here.
The fifth seeded duo of Bhupathi-Bopanna lost 6-7(7), 4-6 to Belarus' Max Mirnyi and Canada's Daniel Nestor in their quarter-final Friday.
World No.1 and 2012 Roland Garros champions Mirnyi and Nestor did not drop a serve in the match. They next face eighth seeds Eric Butorac of the US and Paul Hanley of Australia.
Paes and Anderson lost to Serbian tandem Janko Tipsarevic and Nenad Zimonjic 6-2, 4-6, 7-10 in the second round. Tipsarevic-Zimonjic will play the Belgians Xavier Malisse and Dick Norman for a place in the semi-finals.
Earlier Friday, Bhupathi and Bopanna expressed disappointment that they would not be pairing at the tennis competitions of the London Olympics.
The reaction followed the decision of the AITA selection committee which picked Paes to partner Bhupathi. (IANS)
