Madrid Masters: Bopanna-Mergea progress, Bhupathi-Martin bow out in men's double event

Indian tennis ace Rohan Bopanna and his Romanian partner Florin Mergea produced a superior performance as they have advanced to the quarter-finals of the men's doubles event at Madrid Masters.

After losing the first set by a whisker, the sixth-seed pair staged a spirited fight back to claim a 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 10-4 win over Uruguayan-Spaniard pair of Pablo Cuevas and Marcel Granollers Pujol in the second round contest.

The Indo-Romanian pair will now aim for the semi-final berth when they take on Finnish-Australian pair of Henri Kontinen and John Peers, who also made it to the quarter-finals following their 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) win over Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares.

Meanwhile,Mahesh Bhupathi along with his French partner Fabrice Martin knocked out of the tournament after tasting 3-6, 6-4, 6-10 defeat at the hands of seventh-seed pair of Alexander Peya and Nenad Zimonjic.

It was Bhupathi's first appearance since the Delhi Open in February, where he partnered with Yuki Bhambri to clinch his first doubles title in three years.