MADRID: Leander Paes and his Czech partner Martin Damm were ousted by the unheralded Polish pair of Mariusz Fyrsttenberg and Marcin Matkowski in the first round of the USD 2.6 million Madrid Masters tournament.
After a gruelling three-set encounter, the Polish pair carved out a 6-7 (3), 6-2, 12-10 victory.
Paes and Damm, who had won the doubles crown at the US Open this year, were taken in by surprise by the spirited performance of their rivals in the first set who managed to stretch it to the tiebreaker.
But the Polish duo regrouped and played some aggressive tennis to win the second set and draw parity.
The decider was fiercely fought before Fyrsttenberg and Matkowski sealed the match in their favour with a 12-10 score.
Mahesh Bhupathi, partnering American James Blake, is slated to take on the Israeli pair of Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram in the first round.
