Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi are on course for their maiden Australian Open title together as they advanced to the semifinals after a hard-fought victory over the combine of Michael Llodra of France and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia here today.

The third seeded Indian pair, who teamed up together after nine years in a bid to add the only Grand Slam title missing in their cupboard, needed 91 minutes to beat Llodra and Zimonjic 6-4 6-4 in a quarterfinal match at Melbourne Park.