Bhupathi-Blake crashes out of Madrid Masters

NEW DELHI: Mahesh Bhupathi and his American partner James Blake made an early exit from the Madrid Masters after losing to the Israeli pair of Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram in straight sets.

Bhupathi and singles world No 6 Blake lost 6-0 6-3 in the first round.

The Israelis were off the blocks in a flash, even before Mahesh and Blake could work out their combination, wrapping up the first set in just 19 minutes.

The Indo-Ameriacan duo tried to get over the early setback and broke the Israelis in the third game to take a 2-1 lead.

However, the Israeli pair was in no mood to relent and broke back immediately before pocketing three of the next four games to romp home without any real challenge from their opponents.

Erlich and Ram will take on number three seeds Daniel Nestor and Mark Knowles in the quarterfinals.