Indian challenge over, Bhupathi too crashes out of Madrid Masters

Madrid, Oct 18 (UNI) Mahesh Bhupathi had the same fate as his estranged partner Leanmder Paes as the strapping Indian and his American partner James Blake crashed out of the men's doubles event at the Madrid Masters with a straight set defeat in their first round match.

The Israeli pair of Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram dropped just three games in the entire match on their way to a facile 6-0, 6-3 win in the Euro 2,082,500 tournament.

It was a hopeless capitulation by the Bhupathi-Blake pair who could not find their feet in the first set and was blanked by the Israeli duo.

The second set went slightly better but not more than that. The Indo-American pair did manage to win three games but that was just not enough to stop their rivals from crushing them with consummate ease.

Earlier, Paes and his Czech partner Martin Damm also made an early exit from the doubles event after the unheralded Polish pair of Mariusz Fyrsttenberg and Marcin Matkowski downed them 6-7(3), 6-2, 12-10 in a marathon match.

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