Melbourne [Australia], January 14 : India's doubles ace Rohan Bopanna faced an early exit from the Australian Open as his men's doubles campaign ended in the first round on Tuesday. Teaming up with Colombian partner Nicolas Barrientos, the 14th-seeded duo fell to Spain's Pedro Martinez and Jaume Munar 5-7, 6-7 (5) in a tightly contested match on Court 15 in Melbourne.
Bopanna, who won the Australian Open doubles title last year with former partner Matthew Ebden, couldn't replicate his success this time with Barrientos. Despite their seeding, the Indo-Colombian pair struggled to find their rhythm against the unseeded Spanish team, eventually losing in an hour and 54 minutes.
It was disappointing for the 44-year-old Bopanna, who had reached the World No. 1 doubles ranking in 2023. It also added to India's setbacks at the tournament, following Sumit Nagal's first-round exit in the men's singles on Sunday.
Nagal, the only Indian in the men's singles draw, went down to 26th seed Tomas Machac of Czechia in straight sets, losing 6-3, 6-1, 7-5. The 27-year-old fought hard but was overpowered in two hours and five minutes.
Last year, Sumit Nagal made the main draw via the qualifying rounds and stunned Kazakhstan's world No. 27 Alexander Bublik in the opening round. He became the first Indian men's tennis player to defeat a seeded player in a Grand Slam since Ramesh Krishnan in 1989.
Nagal bowed out in the next round after losing to People's Republic of China's Juncheng Shang.
Three other Indian players remain in contention in men's doubles. Yuki Bhambri has partnered with France's Albano Olivetti, N Sriram Balaji is teaming up with Mexico's Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela, and Rithvik Bollipalli is playing alongside American Ryan Seggerman.
Meanwhile, no Indian woman qualified for the Australian Open this year, leaving the nation's hopes resting on the remaining doubles players.
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