Bhupathi-Knowles in quarters of Cincinnati Masters

Bidding for their second consecutive Masters title, Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles moved to the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati Masters after edging past Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco in a tough three setter.

The fourth seed Indo-Bahamian combination overcame a first set deficit and a fighting Spanish pair 5-7, 6-4, 12-10 in one hour and 29 minutes second round contest.

Bhupathi and Knowles, winners of the Montreal Masters last week, dropped their serve twice and failed to grab two chances to allow their rivals a 1-0 lead.

However they made amends in the following set and did not give any break chance to their opponents and converted one of the five chances to draw level.

The deciding super tie break was a keenly contested affair and the Indo-Bhamain pair relied on their expereince to prevail over the Spanish pair and ensured a berth in the last-eight for themsleves.

They will now lock horns with French pair of Michael LLodra and Jo-Wilfred Tsonga.

Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouy are slated to meet Spanish pair of David Ferrer and Tommy Robredo in their second round encounter.