Tennis
Monte Carlo Masters: Bopanna/Murray pair up to record thrilling first-round win
First-time partners, Indian tennis ace Rohan Bopanna and Britain's Jamie Murray upset Miami Open finalists in their first-round match at the ATP Monte Carlo Masters.
Jamie Murray (left) and Rohan Bopanna at the Monte Carlo Masters (Source: ATP Tour)
The season of clay has begun full swing with the Monte Carlo Masters as Indian tennis ace Rohan Bopanna has paired up with Britain's Jamie Murray for the first time and recorded their first win as a pair against Miami Open finalists, Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski in a thriller.
Pulling off a stunning comeback, the Indo-British pair of Rohan Bopanna and Jamie Murray held on to their nerves and were able to defeat the seventh-seeded pair of Koolhof-Skupksi, 2-6, 6-3, 12-10 on their third match point opportunity.
Both Bopanna and Murray dropped serve in the first set and had to fight hard to break in the second to force the match into a decider. In fact, in the match tie-break, Bopanna and Murray, new to their combination, was lagging behind at 1-5 and had to overcome two mini-breaks to finally eke ahead of their opponents and seize the maiden victory.
On the ATP Tour, Bopanna and Murray have played against each other 12 times but never side by side. At the clay court event in Monte Carlo as well, Bopanna and Murray have clashed swords on three previous occasions as well.
Next up for this Indo-British duo, Americans Taylor Fritz and Sebastian Korda, who took a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies, will be awaiting them in the Round of 16 match.
