Leander Paes did not allow a bleeding nose to affect his performance as he and Mahesh Bhupathi made short work of Swiss pair of Roger Federer and Yves Allegro to romp into the quarter-finals of the men's doubles tennis on Tuesday.
"I had some bleeding in the nose, but anyway it's a good thing that we could pull through," said Paes after the 6-2, 7-6 (9/7) win.
The pair won the first set quite easily but had to face some stiff opposition from Federer, the world number one, and his partner in the second.
"Federer is a dangerous player in doubles also. We knew if we could take them to the tie-break, we could have the match. We know what to do in that situation."
Paes said they are expecting a tough match in the next round from regular Zimbabwean doubles specialists, Wayne Black and Kevin Ullyett.
"It will be tough match. They are regular doubles players. I and [David] Rikl had beaten them in Dubai open. So we know their game very well. We have also studied their game."
Paes said the pair, being backed by over a billion Indians, is confident of doing well in the next matches.
"We will draw a fresh strategy for the quarter-final clash. We are confident of doing well. We know that one billion people back home are supporting us. The media here is also very supportive. So it will help us."