New Delhi: India’s challenge at the Australian Open 2025 ended with the disappointing exit of Rohan Bopanna in the mixed doubles quarterfinal. Bopanna and her Chinese partner Shuai Zhang were left to rue a golden opportunity in the Super Tie-Break as the duo squandered a match point to gift the win to local wild cards John Peers and Olivia Gadecki. Bopanna and Zhang failed to close out the match and lost the contest 6-2, 4-6, 9-11 in one hour and eight minutes at Kia Arena.
Bopanna, who won the 2024 Australian Open men’s doubles title with Matthew Ebden, had earlier crashed out in the first round of men’s doubles alongside his new partner, Nicolas Barrientos.
India’s other contenders – Sumit Nagal (singles), and doubles specialists Yuki Bhambri and N Sriram Balaji were eliminated at various stages of the season’s first Grand Slam.
Bopanna-Zhang fail to capitalise on the momentum
Bopanna and Zhang made a strong start and cruised to a comfortable 6-2 win in the opening before the Australian wild-card pair made a strong comeback. The Chinese player lost her serve in the third game of the second set and opened a small window for Peers and Gadecki. The Aussie pair retained their serve and kept hold of the break to wrap up the second set 6-4 and force a Super Tie-break.
In the Super Tie-Break, Bopanna lost his serve on the first point after Peers hit a winner through a volley following a quick duel with Zhang. The Chinese also lost a point on her serve before Bopanna’s forehand winner made it 3-3. However, Peers made a sensational service return winner on Bopanna’s serve to earn another mini break.
Zhang continued to struggle on her serve as the Aussies opened up a 7-5 lead but Gadecki lost both points on her serve to make matters even at 7-7.
At 8-8, Gadecki fired a return wide of the baseline as Bopanna and Zhang earned their first match point but Peers’ strong serve nullified the threat.
Peers landed a superb ace to earn a match point. With the pressure of saving the match, Zhang hit a return wide following a rally, giving the local wild cards a sensational win.
Rohan Bopanna, who won the 2024 Australian Open men’s doubles title with Matthew Ebden, had earlier crashed out in the first round of men’s doubles alongside his new partner, Nicolas Barrientos. Tennis Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
