Cincinnati, Aug 16 (UNI) Alernates Rohan Bopanna of India, combining with left handed Denis Shapovalov of Canada put up a great fight against top seeded Colombian pair of Juan Sebastian Cabal and Roberth Farah in the doubles second round match in the $56,05,6280 Western and Southern Open ATP Masters 1000 at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio.
However, Bopanna/Shapovalov went down fighting in the evenly contested encounter.
Robert/Sebastian Cabal kept their nerves and prevailed over their spirited opponents by 7-6 (3), 6-7 (5), 10-8 at court No. 4.
On a couple of occasions in the first set Bopanna/Shapovalov rallied to save vital break points and won the games. In the ninth game of the first set, Bopanna/Shapovalov trailed 30-40 and faced two break points. However, they just managed to win it after making it 40-40 and led 5-4.
Robert/Sebastian Cabal retained their service and levelled the score 5-5. With games moving with service, the pairs were tied 6-6 which necessitated the tie-breaker rule to be applied. Leading 3-2, Robert/Sebastian Cabal unleashed four successive points to enhance their lead to 6-2 to be in the driver's seat. They won the tie-breaker at 7-3 and the set at 7-6.
The second set was also evenly contested Robert/Sebastian Cabal established a good 3-0 lead after getting an early break. However, Bopanna/Shapovalov fought back with vengeance and restored parity at 4-4 and 6-6.
Bopanna/Shapovalov and Robert/Sebastian Cabal were tied at 5-5 before Bopanna/Shapovalov clinched the tie-breaker at 7-5 and the set at 7-6.
The pairs split the first two sets. In the match tie-breaker, Robert/Sebastian Cabal gained an early 3-0 lead. Winning both points on their service, Bopanna/Shapovalov reduced the margin to 2-3. However Robert/Sebastian Cabal continued to lead as they forged ahead by 8-5 to consolidate their position.
At 9-6 they enjoyed three match points. Bopanna/Shapovalov fought back and Shapovalov fired an ace to make it 8-9. But the top seed Robert/Sebastian Cabal just managed to clinch the match tie-breaker at 10-8 and the match in one hour and 48 minutes.
Bopanna/Shapovalov fired six aces and committed the same number of double faults. Their rivals had one ace and one double fault on their scorecard. While Bopanna/Shapovalov had first 63 per cent first service in Robert/Sebastian Cabal had 73 per cent first service in.
Bopanna/Shapovalov won 75 per cent points (42/56) on their first service an 52 per cent points (17/33) on the second service. They saved nine out of ten break points and won one break point out of one.
Robert/Sebastian Cabal won 80 per cent points (49-61) on their first service an 67 per cent points (12/18) on their second serive. They won one break point out of 10. They won maximum of five games in a row and six points in a row. Bopanna/Shapovalov won maximum of three games in a row and four points in a row. They won 77 total points while Robert/Sebastian Cabal won 91 total point out of 168.
UNI XC JAL 0705