Bopanna, Zhang advance into mixed doubles round two of Australian Open

Melboure: Indian ace Rohan Bopanna and his Chinese partner Shuai Zhang advanced to the second round of the Australian Open mixed doubles with a commanding 6-4, 6-4 victory over Ivan Dodig and Kristina Mladenovic on Friday.

Aiming to recover from an early exit in the men’s doubles, the former world No. 1 Indian showed his mettle alongside Zhang, delivering a clinical performance to close out the match in one hour and 12 minutes.

Bopanna and Zhang will face the winners of the match between fourth seeded pair of American Taylor Townsend and Hugo Nys of Monegasque and wild card Australian duo of Maddison Inglis and Jason Kuber in the pre-quarterfinals.

The Indo-Chinese pair started strong, racing to a 3-0 lead in the opening set. Though Croatian Dodig and Frenchwoman Mladenovic broke Zhang’s serve to narrow the gap to 3-2, Bopanna held firm under pressure, serving out the set at 6-4.

The second set began with both pairs exchanging breaks in a tight contest.

At 3-4 down, the Indo-Chinese duo capitalised on Dodig and Mladenovic’s errors, including two costly double faults, to break serve and level the score. They held their nerve to win the next two games, with Zhang and Bopanna complementing each other with steady serve and sharp forehand display.

While Dodig and Mladenovic created 17 break points throughout the match, their failure to convert key opportunities proved costly for them.

Bopanna and Zhang, on the other hand, were clinical, converting five of their nine break points.

The Indo-Chinese duo also outperformed their opponents in serve with four aces, compared to Dodig/Mladenovic's two. They won 31 of 48 service points, showcasing consistency, while on returns, they were efficient, winning 10 of 34 return points compared to their opponents’ 17 of 48.

Bopanna and Zhang were sharp at the net with four volley winners and managed four passing shots.

Their groundstroke precision was evident, contributing three forehand winners, while Dodig/Mladenovic did not register any.

Bopanna had made the final in 2023 with Sania Mirza and he would look to make up for the loss this time.

Bopanna became world No. 1 in doubles after winning his first major doubles title at the 2024 Australian Open with Matthew Ebden, becoming the oldest player in the world to achieve the feat at the age of 43.