Paes out; Kei creates Japanese history

Paris (Agencies): India's campaign came to an end in the men's doubles event of the French Open when Leander Paes and his Austrian partner Jurgen Melzer crashed out in the second round here on Saturday. Seeded ninth, Paes and Melzer fought hard before going down 7-5, 4-6, 6-7(6) against unseeded Uruguan-Argentine duo of Pablo Cuevas and Horacio Zeballos in little less than two-and-a-half hours at the Roland Garros.

Cuevas and Zebalos will face sixth seeded Pakistani-Dutch combination of Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi and Jean-Julien Rojer in the pre-quarterfinals. Qureshi and Roger beat Slovakian pair of Aljaz Bedene and Grega Zemlja 7-5, 6-1 in their second round encounter. Bhupathi and Bopanna were no match for their unseeded opponents, losing their tournament opener in straight sets 5-7, 4-6. A frowning Maria Sharapova walked toward the net, peering at a mark on the other side and trying to argue her way out of yet another double-fault. "It hit the outside line," she told the chair umpire. He disagreed � incorrectly � but Sharapova wasn't fazed for long. She overcame eight double-faults, the erroneous ruling and a second-set deficit to beat Zheng Jie 6-1, 7-5 in the third round Saturday at the French Open. Sharapova has reached the fourth round at 11 of the past 12 major events. She'll next play American Sloane Stephens, who reached the fourth round for the second consecutive year, beating Marina Erakovic 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3. Unseeded American Bethanie Mattek-Sands also advanced, beating qualifier Paula Ormaechea 4-6, 6-1, 6-3. Like Sharapova, former No. 1 Victoria Azarenka struggled with her serve, but she rallied past Frenchwoman Alize Cornet 4-6, 6-3, 6-1. Seeded third, Azarenka advanced despite hitting 10 double-faults and being broken six breaks. She managed a smile later when asked about her serve. She next plays unseeded Francesca Schiavone, the 2010 champion, who beat No. 13 Marion Bartoli of France 6-2, 6-1. No. 13 Kei Nishikori became the first Japanese man in 75 years to reach the fourth round at Roland Garros, beating No. 24 Benoit Paire of France 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-1. Over on court 1, the No. 17-seeded Stephens won the last three games against Erakovic, who was penalized a point in the third set for getting coached. A year ago, Stephens became the first US teenager to reach the fourth round at Roland Garros since Serena Williams in 2001.