<p>India's Rohan Bopanna and his Romanian partner Florin Mergea began their campaign at the Wimbledon championships with a hard-fought win over over Tim Smyczek and Jiri Vesley in the men's doubles, here today.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The ninth-seeded Indo-Romanian pair eked out a 6-3 7-6(1) 6-1 win over the unseeded American-Czech team in one hour and 26 minutes at court no. 19.<br /><br />They next face winner of the first round match between pairs of Radek Stepánek/Mikhail Youzhny and Tomas Bellucci/Guillermo Durán.<br /><br />All it took Bopanna and Mergea to take the first set was just 25 minutes. They broke the rivals in the fourth game and kept holding their serve for a solid 4-1 lead.<br /><br />Smyczek and Vesley had two break chances but the ninth seeds saved them and served out the set in the ninth game.<br /><br />Taking forward the first set domination, Bopanna and Mergea began the second set by breaking the Czech-American combine in the very first game.<br /><br />However Smyczek and Vesley stung back as they took four straight games for a 4-1 lead, rattling the fancied opponents. Bopanna and Mergea regrouped, succeeded in breaking the rivals in the seventh game and held their own to make 4-all.<br /><br />They had a break opportunity in the ninth game as well but could not convert the chance. The two pairs held serve after that, leading to tie-breaker, where Bopanna and Mergea outclassed the American and Czech to take a 2-set lead.<br /><br />A break in the fourth game gave the ninth seeds a 3-1 cushion in the third set. Smyczek and Vesley had lost in the mind and it was a cake walk for Bopanna and Mergea after that. <br /></p>
<p>India's Rohan Bopanna and his Romanian partner Florin Mergea began their campaign at the Wimbledon championships with a hard-fought win over over Tim Smyczek and Jiri Vesley in the men's doubles, here today.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The ninth-seeded Indo-Romanian pair eked out a 6-3 7-6(1) 6-1 win over the unseeded American-Czech team in one hour and 26 minutes at court no. 19.<br /><br />They next face winner of the first round match between pairs of Radek Stepánek/Mikhail Youzhny and Tomas Bellucci/Guillermo Durán.<br /><br />All it took Bopanna and Mergea to take the first set was just 25 minutes. They broke the rivals in the fourth game and kept holding their serve for a solid 4-1 lead.<br /><br />Smyczek and Vesley had two break chances but the ninth seeds saved them and served out the set in the ninth game.<br /><br />Taking forward the first set domination, Bopanna and Mergea began the second set by breaking the Czech-American combine in the very first game.<br /><br />However Smyczek and Vesley stung back as they took four straight games for a 4-1 lead, rattling the fancied opponents. Bopanna and Mergea regrouped, succeeded in breaking the rivals in the seventh game and held their own to make 4-all.<br /><br />They had a break opportunity in the ninth game as well but could not convert the chance. The two pairs held serve after that, leading to tie-breaker, where Bopanna and Mergea outclassed the American and Czech to take a 2-set lead.<br /><br />A break in the fourth game gave the ninth seeds a 3-1 cushion in the third set. Smyczek and Vesley had lost in the mind and it was a cake walk for Bopanna and Mergea after that. <br /></p>