Divij and Raja's Slam debut ends in heart-breaking defeat

Divij Sharan and Purav Raja frittered away a two-set lead to spoil their Grand Slam debut as they bowed out of men's doubles event of the Wimbledon after losing a marathon opening round match, here.

Perhaps the lack of experience of playing at big stage cost them as the Indian qualifiers went down 7-6 (4) 6-2 3-6 4-6 4-6 against American Nicholas Monroe and Simon Stadler of Germany in three hours and 15 minutes last night.

The Indians had chances galore but could not cash in on as 15 of the 19 breakpoints went begging.

After allowing their rivals to win the third set, the Indians had four break chances in the next but converted just one while they dropped their serve twice.

As pressure grew, the Indians started to miss points at crucial junctures. Three break chances came their way in the final set but they squandered all.

Nevertheless, the Indian players will take a lot of pride in putting up a good fight in their first ever major clash.