The all-Indian men’s doubles team of Yuki Bhambri and Saketh Myneni lost their first round match at the Wimbledon Championships on Sunday. This came shortly after Rohan Bopanna and his Canadian partner Gabriela Dabrowski lost their opening round mixed doubles match.
Bhambri and Myneni – late entrants to the contest as alternates – came up against the team of France’s Adrian Mannarino and Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, losing 4-6, 6-4, 4-6 in a tight encounter.
With the score at 4-4 in the opening set, Bhambri’s serve was broken to give Mannarino the chance to serve out the first set.
It remained just as tight in the second set between the two teams until the Indians finally got the telling break in the 10th game, with a break to 15 off Mannarino’s serve to level the match.
It was the European duo however, who got the first break in the third set with Myneni’s serve being broken. However, Mannarino’s serve was broken immediately to make it 2-2.
As the set went on and the rallies grew more intense, Bhambri’s serve was broken again for the Europeans to go up 4-3. It was lead they would hold onto, with Davidovich Fokina serving out the match.
Earlier, on Court 17 sixth seeded mixed doubles pair of Bopanna and Dabrowski lost out 7-6(5), 3-6, 4-6 to Ivan Dodig and Latisha Chan.
The match had started on Saturday, but had been suspended due to rain just after the Indo-Canadian pair – who had won the French Open mixed doubles title in 2017 – won the first set.
Dodig and Chan however, are two-time French Open winners together, and had also won the 2019 Wimbledon title. They came out strong as play resumed on Sunday to win the second and third set in a match that lasted two hours and six minutes.
Bopanna however, is still active at Wimbledon this year, as he and partner Matthew Ebden won their first round men’s doubles match.
On Saturday, the other all-Indian team of Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and N Sriram Balaji – also alternates – lost a tough tie against second seeds Austin Krajicek and Dodig 7-6 (5), 6-4.