Press Trust of India
New York, Sept 3: India’s top doubles players Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna were dumped from the US Open men’s doubles competition even as Sania Mirza progressed in the mixed doubles event with her Croatian partner Ivan Dodig.
Paes and his German partner Andre Begemann lost a close first round encounter against French-Israeli pair of Stephane Robert and Dudi Sela in just under two hours 6-2, 5-7, 4-6.
Bopanna and his partner Frederik Nielsen of Denmark were blown away by American Brian Baker and Kiwi Marcus Daniell 2-6, 6-7 (5-7).
However there was some cheer for the Indian fans as Sania and Dodig, who have won the US Open mixed doubles title in 2014 made a fluent start to their campaign with a 6-4, 6-4 straight set win over US pair of Donald Young and Taylor Townsend in just 62 minutes.
Bopanna also played his mixed doubles first round match later in the evening alongside Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski beating US pair of Noah Rubin and Jamie Loeb 7-5, 6-4 in only 67 minutes.
In the junior girls’ event, India’s Pranjala Yadlapalli beat American Victoria Emma 6-3 6-2.
After a poor first set, Bopanna and Nielsen fought back from 3-5 down in the second to make it 5-all and take the set to the tie-breaker. In the tie-break, the Indo-Dane combo led 3-0 and 4-1 only to blow the lead away.
Paes and Begemann started well and were 6-2, 3-0 up. The Indo-German pair looked like serving out at 5-4 before Sela and Roberts got a break back in the 10th game while getting another break in the 12th game to win the set 7-5. Thereafter Paes and Begemann lost control of the match.