New York: Star Indian player Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek of Czech Republic qualified for the third round of the men’s doubles event of the U.S Open after they beat unseeded Brazilian pair of Thomaz Bellucci and Joao Souza in straight sets here at the Flushing Meadows.
The fifth seeded Indo-Czech pair defeated the Brazilian duo of 7-5, 7-6 (3) in a match that lasted for an hour and 45 minutes Friday.
Paes-Stepanek broke Bellucci-Souza sealed the set without losing a single game on their serve.
Both the teams were broken once in the second set, but then the Brazilian duo found their fancied opponents too hot to handle and eventually lost 7-3 in the tie- break.
Paes-Stepanek will now take on America-Australian team of Jesse Levine and Marinko Matosevic who beat eleventh seeds Jonathan Marray and Frederik Nielsen 6-1, 7-6, 6-4.
By Indian Sports News Network
