Leander Paes [Images] of India and Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic had to dig deep into their reserves to overcome the Russian pair of Marat Safin [Images] and Dmitry Tursunov [Images] in the first round of the USD 2-million ATP Tennis Masters series event in Rome.
Paes and Stepanek weathered a tough opening set to beat the mercurial Safin and his compatriot 7-5, 6-3 on Tuesday to advance to the second round where they will take on top seeds Bob and Mike Bryan of the US.
Mahesh Bhupathi [Images] and South African Wesley Moodie, seeded eighth, had a bye in the first round.
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