Paes-Bhupathi in quarters

The crack Indian pair of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi entered the quarter-finals of the $350,000 US men's claycourt championships in Houston on Wednesday.

The Indians, seeded second in the championships, got past the unseeded American pair of Mardy Fish and Alex O'Brien 5-7, 7-5, 6-4 in a hard-fought match.

They will face Jeff Coetzee/Brent Haygarth in the quarterfinals. Jeff Coetzee/Brent Haygarth defeated Jan-Michael Gambill/Andy Roddick 6-4, 7-6 in the first round match.

All the top three seeded teams advanced to the quarter-finals. Top seed Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan defeated Thomas Shimada/Eric Taino 6-7, 7-6, 6-3. Third seed Paul Macpherson/Grant Stafford defeated Tim Crichton/Ashley Fisher 6-3, 7-5.

Fourth seeds Rick Leach/Mitch Sprengelmeyer lost to Jan Siemerink/Jack Waite 1-6, 1-6