New Delhi: Leander Paes and David Rikl of the Czech Republic lost to Switzerland's Roger Federer and Max Mirnyi of Belarus 5-7, 3-6 in the Nasdaq-100 Open ATP Tennis Masters event in Key Biscayne, Florida, on Sunday.

Paes and Rikl had to be content with $ 68,000 for their runners-up placing while the title was third for seventh seeded Mirnyi-Federer pair who won in Rotterdam and Moscow last year.

Mirnyi and Federer had started off with a win over Mirnyi's erstwhile partner Mahesh Bhupathi - with whom he had won the US Open doubles crown last season - and Tim Henman in the first round before toppling the highest seeds Canadian Daniel Nestor and Mark Knowles of Bahamas in the semi-finals.

For Paes, who had won two titles so far this year, a win here would have given him career title number 27.

Nevertheless, his performance should catapult him in the ATP Doubles Race along with Rikl from their current fourth place and also individually in the Doubles Entry Ranking system.

PTI