Leander Paes [Images] and his Serbian partner Nenad Zimonjic crashed out in the first round of the ATP Masters Series doubles in Paris, losing a hard-fought encounter to the Israeli pair of Jonathan Elrich and Andy Ram.
Paes and Zimonjic lost 6-7(5/7), 6-2, 2-6.
However, the two have already qualified for the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, China, in fifth spot on the ATP Doubles Race (annual rankings).
Only the top eight pairings make it to the elite event in China.
The first round encounter in Paris on Tuesday was close, with the first set going to a tie-breaker in which the Israelis prevailed 7-5.
Paes and Zimonjic came back strongly in the second set, taking it 6-2, but could not maintain the momentum in the decider.
In other first round doubles matches, Dominic Hrbaty of Slovakia and Sweden's Thomas Johansson beat the Czech pairing of Martin Damm and Frantisek Cermak 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, while the fourth seeded combination of Mark Knowles of the Bahamas and Canadian Daniel Nestor prevailed over Spaniards David Ferrer and Tommy Robredo 7-6(6/2), 3-6, 6-1.
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