Divij Sharan and Rajeev Ram lost in the third round of Australian Open. (Source: Twitter/Divij Sharan)
India’s participation in the men’s doubles draw ended at the Australian Open on Monday with Divij Sharan and Rohan Bopanna bowing out in the third round. Playing with their respective partners, Sharan and Bopanna pushed the matches to third set but weren’t able to extend their stay in the draw. On Sunday, Leander Paes and Purav Raja had bowed out in straight sets.
Pairing with Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin, Bopanna lost to Oliver Marach of Austria and Croatia’s Mate Pavic 4-6, 7-6, (7-5) 3-6 at Melbourne Park. The contest lasted a little over two hours and saw the Indo-French combination convert one out of two break point chances, while their opponents converted three out of 12 break points. In another difference between the two teams, Bopanna and Roger-Vasselin had two aces compared to their opponents’ seven.
In an earlier match on Day 8 of the Australian Open, duo of Sharan and Rajeev Ram from USA suffered a 6-3, 6-7 (4), 4-6 defeat at the hands of top seeds Lukasz Kubot of Poland and Brazil’s world number one Marcelo Melo. The contested lasted two hours and 12 minutes and saw Sharan and Ram convert two of six break point opportunities. In comparison, Kubot and Melo converted two out of four break points.
Earlier on Sunday, Leander Paes and Purav Raja were convincingly swept aside by Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah of Colombia 1-6, 2-6 in just an hour and nine minutes.
India’s hopes now rest in the mixed doubles draw with sole representation by Bopanna. Bopanna and his Hungarian partner Timea Babos are in the second round after beating Ellen Perez and Andrew Whittington in the opening round.