Bhupathi-Hingis pair sails into 2nd round of French Open

Paris, June 3 (UNI) Mahesh Bhupathi and Swiss comeback queen Martina Hingis breezed into the second round of the mixed doubles event at the French Open with a facile 7-5, 6-2 win against the Aussie-Swede duo of Stephen Huss and Sofia Arvidsson.

The Indo-Swiss duo took time to get into their rhythm as Huss and Arvidsson put up a defiant show in the first set.

But once Bhupathi and Hingis got a hang of the things in the middle, they started dictating terms and conceded only two games in the second set before sealing the match in their favour.

In the second round, there are slim prospects of Bhupathi and Hingis meeting Sania Mirza and Paul Hanley, provided the Indo-Australian duo manage a surprise win over sixth seeded formidable American pair of Bob Bryan and the legendary Martina Navratilova.

Hingis and Bhupathi had teamed up in the Australian Open in what was was the former world number one's comeback Grand Slam and the duo won the mixed doubles title in Melbourne in their first appearance together.

Meanwhile, Bhupathi's former doubles partner and team mate Leander Paes, who crashed out of the doubles event losing his first round match, teams up with Russian Maria Kirilenko and faces an uphill task as they meet third seeded American duo of Meghann Shaughnessy and Mike Bryan in the first round of the mixed doubles event here.

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