Qatar Open: Bopanna-Borges knock out fourth seed in 1st round

Rohan Bopanna and his Portuguese partner Nuno Borges made a scintillating start to their journey as a new men's doubles duo. The pair knocked down the reigning Australian Open runners-up in the first round of the Qatar Open in Doha on Tuesday.

Bopanna-Borges, playing in their first ATP tournament as a pair, registered a straight-set (7-6, 7-6) victory against the fourth-seeded Italian pairing of Simone Bolleli and Andrea Vavassori.

Quality serving

The match might ended in straight sets but both the pairs showcased dominating gameplay on their serves and did not drop any break throughout the match, forcing two back-to-back tie-breaks.

Bopanna and Borges put up a lot of pressure on Bolelli and Vavassori and forced five break points in the opening set but couldn't convert any of them and headed into the tiebreaker.

In the tiebreaker, Bopanna and Borges put up a dominating display and gained a lead of 6-0 to win six set points and then converted their chances on the third time, 7-2.

Similarly, the second set also went into the tiebreaker as none of the pairs were able to win even a break point throughout the set and once again the Indo-Portuguese pair clinched the set on tie breaks, 7-4.

Bopanna and Borges will try to continue to build on the momentum as they take on Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool of the United Kingdom in the second round on Thursday.