Leander Paes- Alexander Zverev suffer first-round exit in Cincinnati

Cincinnati: Indian tennis ace Leander Paes and his German partner Alexander Zverev were knocked out of the 2017 Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati after going down in the opening round of the men's doubles event here on Wednesday.

The Indo-German pair, who comfortably won the first set, failed to continue their momentum and fell to a 2-6, 7-6 (7-2), 10-6 defeat against Spainiard duo of Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez in a jam-packed outer stadium match.

Following the defeat, Zverev reflected on his debut partnership with Paes. The 20-year-old said that although they have lost the match today, it was fun playing with him.

"I know him quite well. He's a good guy. Unfortunately we lost today, but it was fun playing with him," the ATP website quoted Zverev, as saying.

Zverev also admitted that the doubles' event can improve his singles game. "The serve and return helps. You get used to the conditions a little bit more, the match conditions. That's very good. Obviously the volleys improve," the right-hander said.

Zverev has already clinched five titles this year, while Paes is a veteran of 54 doubles titles.