Paes-Stepanek in finals, Mahesh-Bhupathi out

Miami (Florida), March 30 (IANS) India's Leander Paes and his Czech partner Radek Stepanek pulled off an amazing victory over top seeds Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan to secure their berth in the finals of the Sony Ericsson Open. However, Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna crashed out of the tournament in straight sets.

Paes is one win away from a third consecutive Sony Ericsson Open doubles title - with three different partners - after he and Stepanek beat the Bryan brothers 6-4, 6-4 here Thursday.

The Indo-Czech pair had earlier got the better of the American twins when they met in the Australian Open finals and were again in top form. The Bryans, who faced 11 break points in the match, dropped serve three times and looked totally out of sorts.

Paes won the Miami title last year with compatriot Bhupathi and in 2010 with Lukas Dlouhy.

Second seeds Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor advanced to their third final of the season following a 6-1, 6-4 victory over India's Bhupathi and Bopanna. The Belarusian-Canadian duo, winners in Brisbane and Memphis this year, won 89 percent of points on first serve and saved all six break points they faced to advance in 55 minutes.