Rohan Bopanna and Sriram Balaji Face Defeat Ahead of Paris Olympics

Veteran Rohan Bopanna and N. Sriram Balaji, preparing for the Paris Olympics, began their partnership with a challenging loss in their ATP Tour debut. In the Hamburg Open’s opening round, the sixth-seeded Indian duo fell 1-6, 4-6 to the unseeded German team of Jakob Schnaitter and Mark Wallner.

Bopanna and Balaji’s Tough Start

Despite being known for their strong serves, Bopanna and Balaji struggled, losing serve three times and missing all three of their break-point opportunities. They have one more chance to refine their performance before the Olympics at the ATP 250 Croatia Open in Umag.

Sumit Nagal Exits Nordea Open

In other news, India’s top-ranked singles player, Sumit Nagal, was defeated 4-6, 2-6 by fourth-seeded Argentine Mariano Navone in the Nordea Open pre-quarterfinals. A win would have potentially led to a quarterfinal match against Rafael Nadal. Nagal, who recently achieved a career-high ATP ranking of 68, will use this experience as final preparation for the Paris Olympics singles event starting July 26.