Bhupathi-Likhovtseva in Wimbledon second round

Mahesh Bhupathi and Elena Likhovtseva of Russia moved to the second round of mixed doubles at Wimbledon on Thursday.

Seeded third in the tournament, Bhupathi and Likhovtseva beat the Australian pair of Sandon Stolle and Rachel McQuillan 6-3, 6-4.

The duo were untroubled by the Australians and got an early service break in the first set. They got a second break in the ninth game to finish the set.

In the second set, Likhovtseva's serve was under attack in the seventh game, falling to 15-40, but they won four points in a row to take the game. They kicked into high gear in the tenth game on Stolle's serve to force a break and win the match.

Earlier, Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi of Belarus had entered the second round of the men's doubles competition beating the unseeded American pair of Mardy Fish and Jeff Morrison 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 on Wednesday.

Bhupathi's former partner Leander Paes and Lisa Raymond of the United States will face the British pair of Karsten Braasch and Barbara Rittner in their first round match on Friday.