Paris: Mahesh Bhupathi came out on top when he won a grudge match against former doubles partner Leander Paes at the French Open on Sunday.
Bhupathi and China's Zheng Jie eked out a 7-5, 6-4 win over Paes and Russia's Nadia Petrova in the first round of the mixed doubles event at Roland Garros.
The duo, who won three grand slam doubles titles together, have barely been on speaking terms for years but had been expected to reunite this year to spearhead India's chances of capturing a gold medal at the Olympics in August. But their relationship has hit a new low after Bhupathi said last month that he would not partner Paes in Beijing, opting to team up with Rohan Bopanna instead.
On Sunday, Paes suffered a particularly miserable day since he was knocked out of the men's doubles. The Indian and his Czech partner Lukas Dlouhy, seeded ninth, perished 6-4, 6-4 in the third round to the Uruguayan-Peruvian pairing of Pablo Cuevas and Luis Horna.
Fourth seeds Bhupathi and Mark Knowles had fallen in the first round of the men's doubles earlier in the week.
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