French Open: Sania enters quarters; Paes, Bopanna knocked out

Indian tennis players Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna crashed out in the men's doubles pre-quarterfinals, while Sania Mirza partnering Swiss Martina Hingis entered the quarter-finals of the French Open here on Sunday.

Paes partnering Canadian Daniel Nestor who were seeded 10th lost to the sixth seed Italian pair of Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini 2-6, 4-6 in straight sets.

Ninth seed Bopanna along with Romanian Florin Mergea went down fighting 3-6, 7-6, 3-6 to fifth seed Jean-Julien Rojer of the Netherlands and Romanian Horia Tecau.

Top-seeded Sania and Martina Hingis ousted the 14th seed Italian pair of Karin Knapp and Roberta Knapp 6-1, 6-4 in the third round to enter the quarters.

The Indian-Swiss pair had full control of the match giving away nothing to the Italian opponents.

Sania-Hingis won all three break points in the first set to seal it 6-1 in a one-sided affair.

In the second set, the Knapp duo looked to make a comeback but the Indian-Swiss pair were too strong for them.

Sania-Hingis held on till the end to win the second set 6-4, thus winning the game too.

Paes and his Canadian partner looked sluggish right from the start. Four double faults in the first set hurt the duo where the Italian pair took best advantage.

Bolelli-Fognini won four of four break points in the set to clinch the set 6-2 in style.

The 10th seeded pair repeated the same mistakes in the second set giving away easy points to the opponents.

Two double faults and a couple of unforced errors made it too easy for Bolelli-Fognini to take the second set 6-4 and the match, to book a place in the quarter-finals of the tournament.

Meanwhile, Bopanna-Mergea also started off on a wrong note losing the first set 3-6.

But the Indian-Romanian pair came back strongly in the second, which saw a close contest with the Dutch-Romanian.

Bopanna-Mergea held their nerves till the end, taking full advantage of two double faults and three unforced errors made by the opponents, winning the second set 7-6.

But Rojer-Tecau were the ones who would not give up. In the deciding set, the duo ensured they were in full flow to take the set 6-3, thus booking a place in the last eight of the event.