Mahesh Bhupathi returned to Grand Slam action with a first-round victory at the Australian Open, but Leander Paes's bid fell flat at the first hurdle in the men's doubles, in Melbourne, on Wednesday.

Bhupathi, partnering Luxembourg's Gilles Muller, beat the Australian pair of Alex Bolt and Andrew Whittington 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-4 in his tournament-opener on court No. 7.

It was Bhupathi's third competitive tournament since bowing out of the 2015 Wimbledon Championships. He missed the second half of last year as he was busy organising the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL).

He played in the Chennai Open and then a Challenger tournament in Thailand, where he reached the semi-finals with compatriot Purav Raja.

The 42-year-old Paes made an early exit from the men's doubles as he and French partner Jeremy Chardy lost their first round match 3-6, 4-6 to Colombian 12th seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah.

Their challenge was over in 72 minutes as they squandered five of six service break chances.