Fourth seeds Leander Paes [ Images ] and Martin Damm [ Images ] were ousted by higher-rated opponents in straight sets in the semi-finals of US $436,000 Medibank International Open ATP tournament in Sydney [ Images ] on Friday.

The Indo-Czech pair suffered a 2-6, 3-6 loss against the second seeded duo of Mark Knowels of Bahamas and Daniel Nestor [ Images ] of Canada [ Images ] in the season opener.

Another Indian hope Mahesh Bhupati, who teamed up with Fabrice Santoro [ Images ], made an early exit in the tournament, held in the build up to the Australian Open [ Images ], the year's first Grand Slam, beginning on Monday.

In the other semi-final, third seeds Paul Hanley [ Images ] of Australia [ Images ] and Kevin Ulyett of Zimbabwe beat Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski, Poland 6-2, 7-6 (7/4).