Top-seeded Bopanna-Ebden pair knocked out of Madrid Masters

MADRID: Top-seeded Indo-Australian pair of Rohan Bopanna and Mathew Ebden bowed out of the ATP Mutua Madrid Open after a shocking first-round loss to the unheralded duo of Sebastian Korda and Jordan Thompson here.

Bopanna and Ebden, who are the reigning Australian Open men's doubles champions, went down 7-6 (4) 7-5 in a contest that lasted one hour and 17 minutes.

Squaring off for the first time, the American-Australian duo matched Bopanna and Ebden shot for shot.

Korda and Thompson displayed a strong service game and saved the lone break point they conceded in the opening set.

To their credit, Bopanna and Ebden also did not allow Korda and Thompson to convert the three breaks points they ended up conceding. However, Korda and Thompson managed to gain the upper-hand by clinching the set in a tie-breaker.

Korda and Thompson gained in confidence and managed to break Bopanna and Ebden once from the four chances that came their way.

The top seeds, in contrast, could not exert any such pressure, resulting in an early exit from the tournament being played on clay.

The rare setback notwithstanding, Bopanna and Ebden have enjoyed a good run on the circuit, winning the Indian Wells Masters last year which made the 43-year-old Indian the oldest ever ATP Masters 1000 champion.

The duo made the men's doubles semi-finals at Wimbledon and the final of the US Open in the same season.

Earlier this year, the Bopanna also became the oldest world number one in doubles thanks to the Australian Open triumph.