Mahesh Bhupathi returned to Grand Slam action with a first-round win at the Australian Open but Leander Paes' bid fell flat at the first hurdle. Bhupathi, playing with his partner Gilles Muller from Luxembourg, beat the Australian pair of Alex Bolt and Andrew Whittington 7-6, 3-6, 6-4 in his tournament-opener. The 42-year-old Leander Paes made an exit with his French partner Jremy Charady after losing his first round 3-6 4-6 to Colombians Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah.In the men's singles, Swiss maestro Roger Federer, seventh seeded Kei Nishikori from Japan and sixth seeded Thomas Berdych stormed into the third round by defeating their respective opponents in straight sets. In the women's singles winner of 21 grand slams Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova defeated their opponents to move into the third round.