Leander Paes of India and David Rikl of the Czech Republic took another big step towards the men's doubles title advancing to the semi-finals of the US Open Tennis Championships in New York.

The 13th seeded duo beat Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco of Spain in straight sets 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 to enter the last four.

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Paes and Rikl will now take on another Spanish pair of Rafael Nadal and Tommy Robredo for a place in the final.

In the quarter-finals, Nadal and Robredo beat Robbie Koenig of South Africa and Travis Parrott of the United States 7-5, 7-5.

The other semi-final will see third seeds Mark Knowles of Bahamas and Daniel Nestor of Canada taking on the French pair of Julien Benneteau and Nicolas Mahut.

Paes is also in line for a double triumph having advanced to the mixed doubles semis along with American legend Martina Navratilova.

The duo will take on the Australian pair of Alicia Molik and Todd Woodbridge for a place in the title round.

In the other semi-final, top seeds Daniel Nestor of Canada and Rennae Stubbs of Australia will take on fourth seeds Bob Bryan of the United States and Vera Zvonareva of Russia.