Paes-Melzer through to 2nd round in French open

File photo

Leander Paes and his Austrian partner Jurgen Melzer moved to the second round of the men’s doubles event at Roland Garros.

The Indo-Austrian pair defeated the all-French pairing of Pierre Herbert and Nicolas Renavand in straight sets 6-3 6-3.

Leander combined well with his Austrian compatriot to convert all the three break point opportunities and seal the victory in 55 minutes.

The Indo-Austrian duo will next face the winner of the first round clash between the Argentine pairing of Leonardo Mayer-Carlos Berlocq and the pairing of Uruguayan Pablo Ceuves and Argentine Horacio Zeballos. Paes-Melzer could have a possible clash against sixth seeds Aisam Ul Haq Qureshi and Jean Julien Roger in the pre-quarter finals.

Earlier in the year, Paes had paired up with Czech Radek Stepanek during the Australian Open and Michael Llodra for the Miami Masters but had failed to produce a winning result.

Paes teamed up with Melzer for the clay season, but have so far failed to achieve desired results.