Mahesh Bhupathi and Radek Stepanek survived a tough challenge from the Czech pair of Tomas Berdych and Petr Pala to enter the doubles semi-finals at the Dubai Open on Thursday.

In a game of fluctuating fortunes, which saw eight breaks of serve, the Indo-Czech pair emerged 6-3, 6-4 winners in an hour and five minutes.

Berdych-Pala, who had upset fourth seeds Leander Paes and Martin Damm in the first round on Wednesday, did well to extend their more experienced opponents but dropped serve far too often.

In the first round, Bhupathi-Stepanek beat Dominic Hrbaty of Slovakia and Jarkko Nieminen of Finland 6-0, 6-3.

Indian Davis Cupper Rohan Bopanna and Morrocan partner Younes El Aynaoui gave a tough time to top seeds Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor in the first round.

The wild card entrants fought back from a set down but lost the match after the tie-break 6-2, 6-7(8), 10-2.