The Israeli duo captured the three hour and 38 minute battle after play was halted at 8-8 in the fifth set on Monday night.

They converted five of 21 break points and saved eight of 11 on their serve to advance to the second round where they will face Stephen Huss and Ross Hutchins.

No. 9 seeds Lukas Dlouhy and Leander Paes also survived a five-set encounter with the British wild card team of James Auckland and Jamie Delgado, prevailing 4-6, 6-0, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.

Dlouhy/Paes converted six of 13 break points while saving seven of nine on their serve. They also won 65 percent of second serve points compared to the Brits' 45 percent.

Rohan Bopanna of India and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan posted the first upset of the tournament as they defeated No. 10 seeds Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski of Poland 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 in one hour and 51 minutes.

Bopanna/Qureshi converted three of 14 break points while saving all four break points on their serve.

The No. 11 seeded duo of South Africans Jeff Coetzee and Wesley Moodie ousted Italians Simone Bolelli and Andreas Seppi 6-1, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2. Moodie captured the Wimbledon title three years ago with Huss.

The second seeded Israelis, who are making their fourth Monte-Carlo appearance, have now won 15 of their last 17 matches beginning with their Australian Open title run in January. They also clinched the title at the first ATP Masters Series event of the season, the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells.

Erlich and Ram next face three-time Monte-Carlo champion Jonas Bjorkman and partner Kevin Ullyett. The No. 8 seeds toughed out a 6-7(7), 7-5, 10-7 win over Polish duo Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski in one hour and 50 minutes.

Fourth seeds Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles (pictured), who enter the week at No. 2 in the Stanford ATP Doubles Race, enjoyed a 6-4, 6-3 win in their opening match against Marcelo Melo and Andre Sa.

The Indian-Bahamian duo improves to a 20-5 season record, including wins in 14 of their last 16 matches. They won back-to-back titles in Memphis and Dubai, and last month reached the quarterfinals at Indian Wells and the final at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.

In the quarterfinals, they will confront No. 5 seeds and reigning US Open champions Simon Aspelin and Julian Knowle, 6-2, 7-6(3) winners over Novak Djokovic and Radek Stepanek. Aspelin and Knowle will be looking to reach the Monte-Carlo semifinals for the second straight year.

The new pairing of Frantisek Cermak and Philipp Kohlschreiber scored an upset over Czech No. 6 seeds Lukas Dlouhy and Pavel Vizner, 5-7, 6-4, 10-5 to set up a quarterfinal clash with Spaniards Rafael Nadal and Tommy Robredo. Nadal and Robredo defeated No. 3 seeds Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic on Tuesday.

Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

The Israeli doubles tandem of Andy Ram and Jonathan Erlich has already won the Australian Open and Indian Wells titles this season.

When it comes to the Israeli delegation of tennis players, they are small in number but strong in loyalty and determination, most especially for their homeland.

For the three Israeli athletes -- recent Australian Open doubles champions Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram, and top 20-ranked Shahar Peer -- fulfilling their naturally appointed role as Israeli world ambassadors is all pleasure and never a burden.

It has become the norm that wherever the ATP or WTA tours might be on a given week, the Israeli players will receive enthusiastic support from the local Jewish community.

On the eve of this week's Sony Ericsson Open, which got under way Wednesday, the three prominent Israelis gathered to take part in a special ceremony to honor their achievements at Beth David Congregation, a conservative temple located in the heart of Miami.

Erlich and Ram became the first Israelis to win a Grand Slam doubles title with their success Down Under, although it should be mentioned that Ram had previously reeled in two mixed-doubles trophies at majors. As for Peer, she recently made history by becoming the first Israeli player to compete in an Arab country when she played the Doha, Qatar, tournament in February, reaching the quarterfinals.

"Especially in the U.S., most of the Jewish community comes out and says hello and welcomes us," said Erlich, waiting in the lobby of Beth David for the evening festivities to begin. "This is ... a little bit more unique than normal, especially because it is in a synagogue. I think it's really nice and I'm very excited to be here.

"I think that is what is so special in Judaism and our community around the world, anywhere we go, we are welcomed and we feel like brothers. One American, one Israeli, one South American, we feel so together and united, and I think that's unique to us around the world."

Ram described the enthusiastic scene when he and Erlich returned home from their Australian Open victory as "crazy," mentioning phone calls from top government officials, rooms of reporters seeking interviews and additional perks: "We've become even more celebrities now in Israel -- we were famous but now it's become even more so. It's nice, it's part of the good thing in the sport. We go back to Israel and everything is for free now. I went to cut my hair and it was free.

"It was very big for us, for Jonathan and myself because winning a Grand Slam is the biggest thing and we achieved it, but it was also very big for Israel."

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AP Photo/Mark Baker

Sheer Peer has been ranked as high as No. 15 in the world and has three career titles on her résumé

"As a child, when I saw some athletes, even if they were not Israelis but I knew they were Jewish, it was something special in my heart, and we want to see more Jewish children around the world playing sports," Erlich said.

Ram acknowledged that part of their goal is to change the perception that Jewish people don't gravitate to athletics -- even the front page of the foundation's pamphlet reads: "My son the athlete. Words you never heard your Jewish mother say."

"We want to break the stereotype that Jewish people only go to be lawyers or doctors, or they are all rich," Ram said. "We know it's not like that. I think that through sports, people can achieve good things."

Interestingly, the reason the doubles duo set up their foundation in the United States is as a show of gratitude for everything they received from America during their formative years.

"We grew up at our tennis centers, which were all built from donations that American Jews sent for kids to be able to play tennis in Israel," Ram said. "So, we feel like it will be nice to give back something to American kids."

On Wednesday, Erlich and Ram were scheduled to put on an exhibition for kids at the Michael-Ann Russell Jewish Community Center in North Miami Beach, Fla., where they made their first donation: a $25,000 check to sponsor the JCC Maccabi Games this summer in San Diego, Detroit and Akron, Ohio.

"As an American Jew who has been involved in fundraising for more than 30 years, we've always raised money for Israel," said David Schultz, the executive director of the Jewish Sports Foundation. "This is the first time that I know of that Israelis have come to us and said, 'We want to give back to the American community for everything they've done, and I think that's just spectacular."

Peer also delights in, but admits some surprise to, the constant attention given by people who want to cheer for an Israeli. And she doesn't hesitate to say that their hospitality goes a long way in making a place that's far from home seem exceptionally friendly.

"It's really nice to meet the people and it's so nice for us that they come out and support us," said Peer, dressed in a summer white minidress despite the unusually chilly temperature in South Florida. "Like tonight, this is a nice occasion, and I'm so happy to be here."

For many of the 100 or so people in the audience during the reception -- attendees included Ofer Bavly, the consul general of Israel -- there was great admiration for Peer and her decision to push to play the event in Qatar, a country known for restricting entry to Israeli citizens.

Accompanied by her brother Shlomi, Peer found the Doha trip fascinating.

"It was the first time for me in a Muslim country like that," Peer said. "It was a very nice experience there and they really took care of me very nicely, so it was good. My dad and my agent arranged everything for me to make the trip. My dad, he wanted me to play there."

For Bavly, the opportunity to pay tribute to the three Israeli players was a chance to beam about Israel's best and brightest without having to address the usual heavier subjects such as strife and politics.

"I think that Israel is so much in the headlines and in the news for violence, for peacemaking, for political reasons, that when we do have the chance to show another face of Israeli society, and something we're really proud of like our sports personalities, our actors in Hollywood, etc., this is something that Jewish communities appreciate," Bavly said.

"It gives them a chance to stand next to Israel, and hug Israel. They asked me to come and say a few words and I was glad to do it because I'm very proud of the Israeli achievements in sport. This is a good showcase to show people that Israel is not just about war; Israel is so many other things."

It is their team’s second ATP Masters Series title, having won their first last August in Cincinnati.

"It feels great to have won our second Masters Series title," said Erlich. "Obviously the first Masters Series is a little more emotional. But this is a title as important as our first one. For our first Masters Series title we defeated the Bryans which was a great confidence boost for our careers."

Erlich and Ram, runners-up last year in Indian Wells, broke their opponents once in each set and saved six break point chances faced to win the final in one hour and 21 minutes. They did not drop a set en route to the title.

Ram said: "We are extremely happy with this title here in Indian Wells. We have been playing very solid tennis since the summer of last year. This year we won our first Grand Slam title and we have been playing with lots of confidence. The conditions in the United States suit our games, it's hot and we like to play on the hard courts."

The Israelis improve to a 17-3 season record, and have won 14 of the last 15 matches since capturing their first Grand Slam crown together at the Australian Open in January.

"Right now we are not thinking about winning titles," said Erlich. "We just focus on giving 100%, day by day, match by match and play with our hearts.

"Obviously we will go out there and try to win every Masters Series and Grand Slam as possible. We will keep fighting and giving our hearts out there as we have been doing. We are in the top of the Race right now and we are happy about that."

Nestor and Zimonjic were playing in their first ATP final of the season, and fall to a 2-3 team record in title matches. They improve to a 10-6 season record with their effort in Indian Wells.

The Israeli duo broke the 10-match winning streak of Bhupathi and Knowles and won their 12th match in the last 13 since capturing their first Grand Slam crown together at the Australian Open in January.

Bhupathi and Knowles were coming off back-to-back ATP titles in Memphis and Dubai and during their 10-match winning streak they didn't drop a set.

Erlich and Ram converted three of five break points in the 35-minute opening set and lost serve twice themselves. But Bhupathi and Knowles only won 39% of their service points (9 of 23).

In the second set, Erlich and Ram went up a break at 2-1 but were broken back. They regained a break advantage at 4-3 and then served it out the one hour and 17 minute match at 5-4.

They will face unseeded Max Mirnyi and Jamie Murray in the semifinals on Thursday night. Mirnyi and Jamie Murray rallied to defeat top seeds Bob and Mike Bryan 5-7, 6-4, 10-6 in one hour and 32 minutes on Wednesday night.

The Bryans defeated Mirnyi and Murray in their Sydney opener in January, but lost to the duo in the Delray Beach final 10-6 in the match tie-break in one of their four runner-up finishes this season. They have played Indian Wells 10 times without a title.

The Bryans converted their third break (set) point to win the opening set in 43 minutes after Mirnyi and Murray failed to convert two break points early on.

In the second set, Mirnyi and Murray broke to take a 2-1 lead. However, the Bryans broke in the next game to tie the score. But Mirnyi and Murray broke again to grab a 3-2 advantage. They added another break in the seventh game but were broken in the next game. The Bryans held serve and forced Mirnyi and Murray to serve for the set again, which they did the second time.