Australian Open: Rohan Bopanna and Shuai Zhang advance to round two

Indian tennis stalwart Rohan Bopanna and Shuai Zhang advanced to the next round in the mixed doubles category of the ongoing Australian Open, on Friday. 

The Indo-China duo beat Ivan Dodig and Kristina Mladenovic in straight sets 6-4, 6-4, and moved to the second round.  

A comfortable victory

Bopanna and Zhang started the match on the front foot, racing to a 3-0 lead in the first set, and pressed on the advantage despite Dodig and Mladenovic trying to mount a comeback. 

In the end, the duo took a 1-0 lead by winning the set 6-4. 

However, Dodig and Mladenovic put up a much better fight at the start of the second set, and the match was contested evenly, locked in at 3-3 at one point. 

But Bopanna and Zhang switched gears and won three out of the four games, taking the set and winning the match as well. 

A major setback for Dodig and Mladenovic was their double faults, with the duo committing as many as 12 as opposed to just one from Bopanna and Zhang. 

After a disappointing exit in the first round of the men's doubles for Rohan Bopanna, the defending champion in that category, the 44-year-old will look to make amends in the mixed doubles by going on a deep run.