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Paes-Neiland combo enters last 16

Leander Paes of India and Larissa Neiland of Belarus, seeded number one in the mixed doubles event at the ongoing Wimbledon championships, have entered the quarterfinals.

The pair had, despite a similar top-seeding at the recent French Open, had a disastrous outing on clay. Here, however, the faster surface suited the serve and volley game of both players to perfect, as they blanked Maurice Ruah of Venezuela and Florencia Labat of Argentina 6-1, 6-4 in the second round.

The two are slated to play Neville Godwin of South Africa, and Seda Noorlander of the Netherlands, in the round of 16.

Meanwhile, in the over-35 invitation doubles for men, defending champion Ramesh Krishnan, partnering Jeremy Bates, beat back a strong challenge from one-time world number one duo, Ken Flach and Robert Seguso, 6-4, 7-6.

However, the Amritraj brothers Vijay and Anand, once ranked among the top doubles combos, lost a tough three setter to John Fitzgerald and Wally Masur, going down 4-6, 7-6, 6-0.

Elsewhere in the junior boys' singles, Manoj Mahadevan, protegee of Ramesh Krishnan, lost out in the qualifying stage itself, while Vijay Kannan, having entered the main draw, lost in the first round to B Borilla of Denmark, going down 1-6, 4-6.