The Indian ace and Canadian partner Daniel Nestor, seeded third, needed 81 minutes to get the better of unseeded Viktor Troicki of Serbia and Robert Bautista Agut of Spain 7-6(3), 3-6, 10-7 in the first round.
They next meet the Spanish pair of Marc Lopez and multiple singles Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal.
The two teams broke each other once before Paes-Nestor sealed the opening set via the tie-breaker.
In the second set, Paes-Nestor were unable to convert any of the six chances they got and dropped serve once which was enough for Troicki-Agut to keep their hopes alive and take the match into the ten-point super tie-break, in which the experience of Paes and Nestor stood them in good stead.
Image: Leander Paes
Photograph: Getty Images