India’s Rohan Bopanna and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden secured a spot in the second round of the Wimbledon men’s doubles event with a decisive victory over the Dutch team of Robin Haase and Sander Arends. The second-seeded pair triumphed 7-5, 6-4 in a rain-interrupted match that lasted an hour and 11 minutes on Wednesday.
Bopanna and Ebden, who are the reigning Australian Open champions, showed their synergy and skill on the grass courts, effectively managing the disruptions caused by intermittent rain. Their performance was characterized by strong serves and strategic net play, which kept their opponents on the defensive throughout the match.
The duo will next face Germany’s Hendrik Jebens and Constantin Frantzen in the second round. Bopanna and Ebden will aim to replicate their success from last year, where they reached the semifinals of Wimbledon.
Earlier on Wednesday, India’s Sumit Nagal and his Serbian partner Dusan Lajovic were eliminated in the first round. They faced a tough challenge from the Spanish duo Pedro Martinez and Jaume Munar, who won convincingly with a scoreline of 6-2, 6-2 in just one hour and seven minutes. The Spaniards’ dominant performance highlighted their effective coordination and powerful groundstrokes, which proved too much for Nagal and Lajovic.
India’s presence in the men’s doubles first round will continue with N Sriram Balaji and Yuki Bhambri, who are scheduled to play later on Thursday. Balaji, teaming up with Britain’s Luke Johnson, will face a challenging match against the fourth seeds, Mate Pavic of Serbia and Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador. Pavic and Arevalo are known for their strong partnership and are considered formidable opponents.
Yuki Bhambri will partner with France’s Albano Olivetti to take on the Kazakh duo of Alexander Bublik and Alexander Shevchenko. Bhambri and Olivetti will need to bring their best game to counter the powerful serves and aggressive play of Bublik and Shevchenko.
As the Wimbledon men’s doubles event progresses, all eyes will be on Bopanna and Ebden to see if they can continue their strong performance and advance further in the tournament. Their experience and recent successes on the Grand Slam stage make them strong contenders. Meanwhile, Indian tennis fans will be hoping for positive outcomes from Balaji and Bhambri in their respective matches.
