Melbourne: 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, here today.

Bhupathi, who is playing with Luxembourg's Gilles Muller, beat the Australian team of Alex Bolt and Andrew Whittington 7-6 (4) 3-6 6-4 in his tournament-opener at court seven.