Bopanna-Middelkoop pair goes down in semi-finals

PARIS: Rohan Bopanna and his Dutch partner Matwe Middelkoop saved two match points, but their dream run at the French Open ended with a semi-final defeat at the hands of Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer here on Thursday.

Bopanna and Middelkoop, the 16th seeds who played some exhilarating tennis throughout, lost 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(8-10) to the 12th-seeded combination from El Salvador and the Netherlands in the men’s doubles match that lasted two hours and seven minutes.

No Indian has played in a Grand Slam men’s doubles final since Leander Paes’s 2013 US Open triumph and Bopanna was bidding to become the first player in nine years to achieve the feat. Rojer’s first-serve accuracy was a huge factor in the outcome of the last-four match.

While serving for the opening set, Middelkoop was down by two break chances but saved both to make it deuce.

The Dutch player then fired an ace to get to advantage point while Bopanna sealed the set with a backhand volley winner. In the second set, Bopanna sent a forehand onto the net at 30-all to face a break point but served big to save that.

The Indian’s second serve was attacked in the sixth game, which resulted in him facing another break opportunity. However, the 42-year-old veteran saved that as well. He sealed the game with a stunning cross-court forehand winner that passed Rojer, who was standing in the middle of the court.

The Indo-Dutch pair earned a break chance when Bopanna found a service return winner off Rojer, but their rivals saved it.

Meanwhile, the 12th seeds did not miss the crucial opportunity in the eighth game as they broke Middelkoop for a 5-3 lead. Arevalo then served out the set at love to force a decider.

There was no break of serve in the third and final set, so a ‘Super Tie-break’ was required to decide the winner. Bopanna and Middelkoop fell behind 2-5 with the Indian making three errors – an overhead smash, a forehand return and a backhand return.

Bopanna and Middelkoop logged four straight points from 2-7 to make it a close affair, even saving two match points, but Arevalo converted the third. With the defeat, India’s challenge at the clay court Slam ended.

RESULT: Men’s doubles: Semi-finals: J Roger/M Arevalo bt M Middelkoop/R Bopanna 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (10-8)

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