Paes-Stepanek, Bhupathi-Bopanna get byes in Monaco Masters

Paes and Stepanek have been seeded fifth while Bhupathi and Bopanna are seeded sixth for the elite clay court event.

Paes and Stepanek await winners of the first round match between the pairs of Juan Sebastian Cabal/ Eduardo Schwank and Julien Benneteau/ Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Bhupathi and Bopanna will take on the winner of the other first round match between the teams of Simone Bolelli/ Fabio Fognini and Viktor Troicki/ Stanislas Wawrinka.

Both Bhupathi and Bopanna need to be in top-10 to make a direct entry into the men's doubles event at London Olympics.

Bopanna is currently placed 10th while Bhupathi is 15th in the ATP ranking charts. PTI AT