Melbourne: As if taking a cue from Leander Paes, his estranged partner Mahesh Bhupathi with his Swiss comrade-in-arms Martina Hingis edged past eighth seeded Aussie pair of Todd Perry and Rennae Stubbs 7-5 7-6(5) in what turned out to be an excellent Day 11 for Indians at the Australian Open.
The Indo-Swiss pair will now take on another Aussie combine, fifth seeds Paul Hanley and Samantha Stosur in the semi-final.
Bhupathi-Hingis were at ease in the first set and broke their opponents at a crucial stage to go one set up.
The Aussie pair, buoyed by homecrowd, fought back and forced a tie-breaker in the second set.
Bringing their vast experience into the game, Mahesh and Hingis held their serves and nerves thus sealing the set and the match.
Earlier, Paes and his French partner Nathalie Dechy also made it into the last four of the mixed doubles event.
The Indo-French pair trounced Frantisek Cermak of Czech Republic and Anna Lena Groenefeld of Germany 6-1 7-6 (7/4) in the quarterfinals.
They will be tested by sixth seeded Daniel Nestor of Canada and Elena Likhovtseva of Russia for an entry into the final.
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