Rohan Bopanna drops out of Tata Open Maharashtra

Rohan Bopanna and Arjun Kadhe’s campaign in the Tata Open Maharashtra came to an end after they lost 6-3, 5-7, 7-10 to the French duo of Benoit Paire and Antoine Hoang on Wednesday.

Also making an exit from the competition was Sasi Kumar Mukund, who was defeated 2-6, 6-7 (7-9) by Taro Daniel in his round-of-16 singles match.

The only highlight of the day for Indian fans at the Tata Open Maharashtra was Ramkumar Ramanathan and Purav Raja’s 7-6 (8-6), 6-3 win over Sumit Nagal and Egor Gerasimov to move on to the qualifying round.

An unsuccessful comeback from Sasi Kumar Mukund

First up on the day from the Indian contingent at the Tata Open Maharashtra, Sasi Kumar Mukund took on Japan's Taro Daniel. Even though it was an uphill task for the unseeded Mukund, ranked 161 positions below his fourth-seeded opponent, he put up a brilliant fight.

The opening set saw Sasi Kumar Mukund get broken first in the fifth game and then again in the seventh, which allowed Taro Daniel to take an easy 6-2 victory.

The second set, however, was anything but one-sided. After both men held serve in the first ten games, Sasi Kumar Mukund was broken first but he returned the favour in the very next game to set up a tiebreaker.

In the tiebreaker, with both men broken once, Sasi Kumar Mukund failed to convert his first and only set point, while Daniel had no such trouble, breaking his opponent to win the tie 9-7.

Ramkumar Ramanathan and Purav Raja prevail for India

Ramkumar Ramanathan's singles run was halted prematurely on Monday, but much to the delight of the locals, the 25-year-old was back on the court again to compete in his round-of-16 doubles match with compatriot Purav Raja.

In the first set, after breaking Sumit Nagal and Egor Gerasimov in the second game, they failed to hold serve, which evened up the scoreline.

A close competition followed, with both sides holding serve for the next 10 games and setting up a tiebreaker.

Ramkumar Ramanathan and Purav Raja got the better of their opponents, breaking them twice and winning 8-6.

The second set was less closely fought, as the Indian duo broke their competition by the seventh game, followed by an encore that saw them win 6-3.

Rohan Bopanna and Arjun Kadhe lose out to French Paire

Like Ramkumar Ramanathan, Arjun Kadhe too was back in doubles action, after falling out of singles contention earlier, paired with Rohan Bopanna.

The Indian duo broke Benoit Paire and Antoine Hoang two-to-one to wrap the first set 6-3 in nine games.

The second set started out positively for the local pair, as they broke their French opponents on the very first game to eke out a slim lead early on.

However, the tables started to turn on them in the eighth game, when they were broken for the first time, followed by another crucial break four games later, leading to a deciding third set.

Both sides put up a respectable fight, but Rohan Bopanna and Arjun Kadhe were broken thrice and only managed to return the favour twice to end up on the losing end of a 10-7 scoreline.

What’s next for India in the Tata Open Maharashtra

Ramkumar Ramanathan and Purav Raja will face Leander Paes and Matthew Ebden in their doubles fixture at the Tata Open Maharashtra. The Indo-Australian pair had outsmarted Divij Sharan and Artem Sitak on Tuesday in straight sets.

Also, Prajnesh Gunneswaran, India’s sole-surviving singles contender in the competition, will face Kwon Soon-woo in the round of 16.