Rohan Bopanna and Mahesh Bhuapthi advanced to the second round of the men's doubles at the Australian Open with their respective partners, in Melbourne, on Wednesday.

Bopanna and Rajeev Ram defeated the Australian pair of Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios.

The 12th seeds won 6-2, 6-4.

Fifth seeds Mahesh Bhupathi and Canadian Daniel Nestor had things as easy while scoring a 6-2, 6-4 victory over the Spanish pair of Pablo Andujar and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in their first round match.

- Drama unfolds as Somdev, Sania crash out

Second seeds Leander Paes and his Czech partner Radek Stepanek begin the defence of their title against South Africa's Kevin Anderson and Isarel's Jonathan Erlich on Thursday.

Bopanna-Ram take on Italians Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini next.

Earlier in the day, Somdev Devvarman and Sania Mirza went down fighting in the men's singles and women's doubles respectively.

Somdev frittered away a two-set lead and lost 7-6(10), 6-3, 1-6, 0-6, 5-7 to world No 26 and 24th seed Jerzy Janowicz in a marathon men's singles second round match that lasted four hours, while Sania Mirza and her American partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands suffered a shock first round exit.

Tenth seeds Sania-Bethanie, who came into tournament after winning the Brisbane international, were ousted by the unseeded Spanish team of Silvia Soler-Espinosa and Carla Suarez Navarro, beaten 6-7(4), 3-6.

Sania will now compete in the mixed doubles with new partner Bob Bryan.

Image: Mahesh Bhupathi with his daughter Saira, after he and Daniel Nestor won their opening men's doubles match at the Australian Open on Wednesday. 

Photograph: Graham Denholm/Getty Images