Bopanna-Mergea Enter Wimbledon Pre-Quarters; Bhupathi Exits Mixed Doubles
In a closely fought second round contest, the ninth seeded Indo-Romanian pair prevailed 7-5 7-6(5) 7-6 (5) against the Brazil-Argentine combination after fighting hard for two hours and 10 minutes.
India's Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea battled past Thomas Bellucci and Guillermo Duran in straight sets to enter the men's doubles pre-quarterfinals but it was curtains for the mixed doubles duo of Mahesh Bhupathi and Alla Kudryavtseva at the Wimbledon here on Friday. (Wimbledon standstill for Tunisia Massacre Victims)
In a closely fought second round contest, the ninth seeded Indo-Romanian pair prevailed 7-5 7-6(5) 7-6 (5) against the Brazil-Argentine combination after fighting hard for two hours and 10 minutes. (On centre court, a Sublime Federer and a Faltering Nadal)
However, the duo of Bhupathi and Kudryavtseva lost to American pair of Nicholas Monroe and Madison Brengle 7-5 6-3 6-2 in a match that lasted one hour, 40 minutes on court number seven. (Slumping Rafael Nadal set for first slam-less year since 2005)
Earlier in the day, saving six of the seven breakpoints proved crucial for Bopanna and Mergea. They broke their rivals twice in each of the first two sets, out of all total five chances that they earned in the contest. (Federer happy to play showman at Wimbledon)