Mahesh Bhupathi and his Croatian partner Mario Ancic rallied from a set down to stun third seeds Jonas Bjorkman and Thomas Johansson 3-6, 6-3, 13-11 and enter the second round of the $1m St Petersburg Open.
Bhupathi and Ancic will take on the Austrian-South African pair of John Stephens and Wesley Moodie next in the indoor event.
The unseeded Indo-Croatian pair had won the Beijing and Mumbai Opens.