Paes-Damm close on Race leaders

Fresh from their victory at the Pacific Life Open, Martin Damm and Leander Paes took the first step towards becoming the new Stanford ATP Doubles Race leaders with a first-round win at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami on Monday.

The US Open champions won their sixth consecutive match with a 7-6(5), 6-4 victory over Spaniards David Ferrer and Tommy Robredo.

Paes-Damm are now only 17 points behind race leaders Mike and Bob Bryan.