Tennis
Australian Open: Bopanna’s mixed doubles run ends in heartbreak
The Indian and his partner Zhang bowed out in a thriller.
Rohan Bopanna’s run in the mixed doubles event of the 2025 Australian Open came to an end on Tuesday when he and his Chinese partners, Shaui Zhang, were beaten 6-2, 4-6 and 9-11 by Australians Olivia Gadecki and John Peers in a thriller.
The Indo-Chinese pair came flying out of the blocks and dominated the first set, pocketing it 6-2 in 25 minutes.
In the second set, the Australian pair mounted a fight back and won it 6-4 to push the match to a decider.
In the Super Tie-break, Bopanna conceded a min-break on his serve and that put the pair on the back foot rather early. They did, however, fight back to draw level at 8-8.
Thereafter, Peers held his nerve to close out the tie-break with an ace to hand the wild card entrants a place in the semi-finals.
Rohan Bopanna and partner Shuai Zhang bow out of the #AustralianOpen after losing against Olivia Gadecki and John Peers in the mixed doubles quarterfinals.
— The Bridge (@the_bridge_in) January 21, 2025
End of India's campaign this year!
Score: 6-2, 4-6, 9-11 pic.twitter.com/9U3mvy0ZcQ
Not only did this loss end Bopanna’s Australian Open run, the result signaled the end of India’s campaign at the open.
Bopanna was beaten earlier in the men’s doubles and similarly, other prominent names in the form N Sriram Balaji Sumit Nagal and Yuki Bhambri had exited the tournament already.
