Tough draws for Indians at the US Open

Leander Paes will kickstart his US Open campaign with Czech partner Radek Stepanek against Jarkko Nieminen of Finland and Dmitry Tursunov of Russia.

Paes, won Winston Salem title with Canadian Daniel Nestor on Sunday, but will play the US open with regular partner Stepanek. They have been seeded fourth.

Rohan Bopanna and his French partner Edouard Roger-Vasselin have been seeded sixth and they face the American pair of Bradley Klahn and Sam Querrey in their opening match.

Mahesh Bhupathi has teamed up with German Philipp Petzschner and they have been pitted against the Canadian combo of Daniel Nestor and Vasek Pospisil.

Bhupathi and Petzschner may face top-seeded and title contenders Americans Mike and Bob Bryan in the pre-quarterfinals.

Another Indian featuring in the men's doubles draw is left-hander Divij Sharan, who has combined with Taipei's Yen-Hsun Lu.

They face the Dutch team of Robin Haase and Igor Sijsling as their first round opponent.

In women's doubles, Sania Mirza and China's Jie Zheng, who won New Haven title, are seeded 10th and will open their campaign against Germany's Annika Beck and Monica Puig of Puerto Rico.

Photograph: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images