French Open: Bopanna-Pavlasek Bow Out After Pre-quarterfinal Loss

French Open: Bopanna-Pavlasek bow out after pre-quarterfinal loss (Image Source: IANS)

French Open: India’s Rohan Bopanna and his Czech partner Adam Pavlasek put up a spirited fight but were knocked out of the French Open on Sunday by second seeds Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten.

The unseeded Indo-Czech duo fell 2-6, 6-7(5) in the pre-quarterfinals to Finland’s Heliovaara and Britain’s Patten, who are ranked third and fourth in the world, respectively.

The second seeds raced to a 5-1 lead in the first set with two breaks of serve. Heliovaara then closed out the set with a dominant service game, finishing with a powerful overhead smash.

Bopanna started strong in the second set, holding serve to love. Patten responded equally well, firing in a series of sharp, angled serves.

Bopanna and Pavlasek had a chance to break at 2-3 when Patten opened game six with a double fault and quickly went down 0-30. However, the Briton responded under pressure, winning four consecutive points to escape unscathed.

With no breaks of serve in the second set, it went to a tiebreak, where Heliovaara sealed the match with a stunning return winner on the first match point.

Meanwhile, Yuki Bhambri is set to play his third-round match alongside American partner Robert Galloway. They face the ninth-seeded American pair Christian Harrison and Evan King.

In the Junior Championship, India’s promising young player Manas Dhamne exited the tournament after a 5-7, 3-6 defeat to fellow qualifier Ronit Karki of the United States.

The 17-year-old Dhamne, who had made it into the main draw through qualifying, struggled to find his rhythm on Sunday.

In the Junior Championship, India’s promising young player Manas Dhamne exited the tournament after a 5-7, 3-6 defeat to fellow qualifier Ronit Karki of the United States.

Article Source: IANS