Leander Paes [Images] and Lukas Dlouhy [Images] edged past the local pair of Julien Benneteau and Nicolas Mahut 7-6 (3), 6-3 to enter the men's doubles quarterfinals at the French Open [Images] in Paris on Saturday.

It took the third seeded Indo-Czech pair more than an hour and a half to bury the challenge of their rivals, who fought valiantly.

With this win, Paes and Dlouhy improved on their last year's performance here as they had lost in the pre-quarterfinals.

Both the pairs played an engrossing first set, none conceding an inch.

The first break opportunity came for Paes and Dlouhy as late as in the ninth game but they failed to convert the chance.

In the tie breaker, Paes and Dlouhy raced away to a 5-2 lead and sealed the set comfortably.

Unlike the first set, the Indo-Czech combine got numerous chances to break their rivals but squandered three breakpoints in the sixth game.

However they made amends in the eighth game and converted the second chance to go up 5-3 and served out the match in the next game.

They next face the winners of the match between Jaroslav Levinsky/Igor Zelenay and Bruno Soares/Kevin Ullyett.