Rohan Bopanna and his Belarussian partner Max Mirnyi overcame a second-set lapse to advance to the semifinals of $ 1,049,000 St Petersburg [Images] Open.

The unseeded pair of Bopanna and Mirnyi tamed the formidable Russian pair of Igor Kunitsyn and former World  number one Marat Safin [Images] 6-4, 3-6, 13-11 in one hour and 15 minutes to move to the next level.

The Indo-Belarusian pair converted one of the four break points and saved the only break point they faced to take the first set.

Their rivals curbed their errors and converted both the breakpoints that Bopanna and Mirnyi offered to draw parity in the match.

However, the Bopanna-Mirnyi combine held their nerves in the decisive super tie-breaker to walk away with the match. 

They next face giant killers in Slovakian Michal Mertinak and Croatia's Lovic Zovko, who stunned the second seeded Czech pair of Martin Damm and Pavel Vizner in their opening round.

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