Paes-Dlouhy in pre-quarters, Sania-Chia out

Paris: It was a mixed day for India at the French Open as Leander Paes sailed into pre-quarterfinals of the men's doubles but Sania Mirza crashed out of the women's doubles event.

The 14th seeded Sania and Taipei's Chia-Jung Chuang were knocked out 6-4 6-7 (5) 3-6 by the unseeded Polish pair of Agnieszka and Urszula Radwanska in Paris on Friday.

Sania and Chia had a chance to seal the match but they failed to serve it out in the 10th game of the second set and allowed their rivals to fight their way back.

Third seeds Paes and Lukas Dlouhy staged a brilliant comeback to make their way into the last 16, defeating James Cerretani and Sergiy Stakhovsky 4-6 6-3 6-2.

After losing the first set, the Indo-Czech pair used their experience, stepped on gas and recorded a comfortable win over the American-Ukranian pair.

They next face local pair of Julien Benneteau and Nicolas Mahut.

Paes and Dlouhy dropped their serve in the third game of the opening set to concede the lead. They got chances to settle score in the sixth game but failed to convert any of the two breakpoints.

Sania and Chia faced a breakpoint as early as in the second game of the second set but warded off the threat.

They then converted the first available opportunity and broke their rivals in the third game and held fourth to go 3-1 up.

Radwanskas though were in no mood to surrender rather they kept the set alive by breaking Sania-Chia in the eighth game, making it 4-4.

Adding to drama, Sania-Chia broke them again in the next game but failed to serve out the match in the 10th game.

The seeded pair saved one set point in the 12th game and two more in the tie-breaker but could not stop their rivals from taking the match to the decisive third set.

The second set too saw an intense fight. The first seven games went with serve, with Paes and Dlouhy saving a breakpoint in the seventh game.

Finally, the Indo-Czech pair found that elusive break in the eighth game, converted the second breakpoint and served out the set in the next game.

The third set completely belonged to Paes and Dlouhy as they broke Benneteau and Mahut twice -- first and fourth games -- to make it easy in the end.

In the Sania-Chia match, despite going down in the first set, Radwanskas did not lose motivation and put pressure on their fancied rivals and came out triumphant.

Both the pairs were profligate in the first set as Sania-Chia wasted four of the six breakpoints and their Polish opponents could convert just one of the five.

Eventually, after the 44-minute battle, the Indo-Taipei combo went into the lead.

Sania and Chia were in for a shock early in the third set as they were broken in the third game. The next seven games with serve and the Polish pair ended up on the winning side.

Sania has already lost the singles and will now present her challenge in mixed doubles along with compatriot Mahesh Bhupathi.

The next games saw a furious fight as Paes and Dlouhy began their hunt for a break to draw level but despite coming close on many occasions, they conceded the first set.