Bhupathi and Prakash to clash in pre-quarters

London:

Mahesh Bhupathi and Prakash Amritraj set up a pre-quarterfinal clash of the Wimbledon championships against each other after winning their men's doubles second round matches along with their respective partners here on Friday.

Qualifiers Prakash and his Pakistani partner Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi quelled a late challenge from Australian Rameez Junaid and Philipp Marx of Germany to carve out a 7-5, 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-7(3), 8-6 win.

Earlier, fourth seeds Bhupathi and his Bahamian partner Mark Knowles defeated Philipp Petzschner and Alexander Peya 6-3, 7-5, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3 in their second round match.

Prakash and Aisam were crusing comfortably and a straight set looked on card but Junaid and Marx staged a briliant comeback and almost toppled their rivals.

However the Indo-Pak pair got their act together, held nerves and eventually triumphed after four hours and 18 minute struggle on the court.

Bhupathi and Knwoles wrapped up the first set under half an hour, converting one of the two breakpoints that came their way.

However, it was not easy going in the second against the unseeded Austrian-German pair as they gave their fancied rivals a run for their money.

Bhupathi and Knowles committed two unforced errors but it was their experience that helped them see off the challenge.

Despite being two sets down, the unseeded duo put up a spirited display and with both teams findings breaks hard to come by, the third set had to be settled by a tie-breaker.

The setback helped Bhupathi and Knowles wake up from slumber and they grabbed the breakpoint chance to finish off the game in two hours and 41 minutes.