The Indian men’s doubles tennis pairing of Rohan Bopanna and N Sriram Balaji fought valiantly but came up short against the French duo of Gael Monfils and Edouard Roger-Vasselin in the first round of the event in the 2024 edition of the Olympics in Paris on Sunday.
The Frenchmen, urged on by their partisan home supporters, got over the line despite India’s best efforts as the hosts cruised to a 7-5, 6-2 win.
The opening set was fought on an even keel as the teams pushed each other on before the hosts pumped their fists in joy as Bopanna dumped a volley into the net to surrender the first set.
The second set was a different tale as Monfils and Vasselin came into the game strong and outclassed their opponents in spectacular fashion with the entertainer Monfils thrilling the French crowd with his circus shots in typical fashion.
Monfils’ big-hitting helped the home team that was egged on by the partisan crowd.
It was probably the last time Bopanna represented India in a multi-sport event. The 44-year-old has already announced his retirement from Davis Cup.
The doubles match featured several fiery baseline exchanges between Bopanna and both the French players.
The French ploy of engaging Bopanna in long rallies from the back took Balaji out of the picture on many points, and it largely denied the debutant opportunity of a quick finish at the net.
The Indians dropped serve first when Bopanna went down 0-40 in game six following a long rally that ended with the Indian team’s unforced error.
Bopanna and Balaji though got the break back in the next game on Roger-Vasselin’s serve. Down by a breakpoint, Monfils could not put away a volley.
The match was back on serve. Eventually, Balaji came out to serve at 5-6 to stay in the set. Feeling the nerves, he struggled to put first serves in and committed a double fault to get to 15-30. A long rally ensued, which ended in the home team’s favour. At the second set point, Bopanna netted a backhand volley.
Balaji could not hold serve in the second set, as Bopanna too struggled to cope with the powerful strokes of the French players.
(With Inputs From PTI)
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