Paes and Shamasdin lose marathon first round

Veteran Leander Paes' 23rd appearance at the Wimbledon Championships ended with a first round defeat in a gruelling five-setter against Julian Knowle and Philipp Oswald, here today.

The combo of Paes and Adil Shamasdin lost 6-4 6-4 2-6 6-7(2) 8-10 to its Austrian rivals in the first round, which was just one minute short of four hours.

In a long-drawn fifth set, Paes and his Canadian partner lost serve at 8-8 and their rivals grabbed the opportunity to serve out the match in the next game.

Paes and Shamadin have won two Challenger level titles together in the 2017 season.