From correspondents in Ontario, Canada, 06:30 PM IST

Leander Paes and his Czech partner Lukas Dlouhy marched to the semi-final of the Rogers Cup defeating fourth seeds Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles of Bahamas.

The seventh seeded Paes-Dlouhy overcame Bhupathi-Knowles 6-4, 3-6, 10-5 Friday.

In the semi-finals, Paes-Dlouhy will face second seeds Daniel Nestor of Canada and Serb Nenad Zimonjic, who knocked out Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu and Russian Mikhail Youzhny 7-6(4), 6-4 to reach their sixth straight ATP semi-final.

Paes-Dlouhy have now reached the semi-finals in their past three tournaments together. The Indo-Czech combine finished runners-up at Halle before reaching the semi-final at Wimbledon. The pair also made a semi-final appearance at Roland Garros.

While the 25-year-old Dlouhy has reached the semi final for the first time here, the 35-year-old Paes, a former world no. 1, is a two-time champion, capturing the title in 1997 and 2004 with his estranged partner Bhupathi.

Bhupathi and Knowles, who began the year on a promising note winning two titles at Memphis and Dubai and reached the Masters Series Monte-Carlo final, have lost in the opening round of their last four events.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)