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Tennis

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

The duo made light work of Ivan Dodig and Kristina Mladenovic, winning in straight sets.

Australian Open: Rohan Bopanna and Shuai Zhang advance to round two
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Rohan Bopanna, the defending champion, failed to seize the initiative in both sets. (File Photo: AP)

By

The Bridge Desk

Updated: 17 Jan 2025 7:08 AM GMT

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.

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