Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan won their respective men's doubles matches in the second round of the Australian Open to advance to the round of 16 on Friday.
Tenth seeds Rohan Bopanna and Édouard Roger-Vasselin had no problems in dispatching Leonardo Mayer and João Sousa 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) in an hour and 17 minutes. They will now play seventh-seeds Oliver Marach and Mate Pavić in the pre-quarters.
The Indo-French pair were dominant from the start in the first set, winning 86% of their first-serve points to make it tough for Mayer and Sousa. They also hit 13 winners to wrap up the opening set in just 28 minutes.
Things were tougher in the second, with Mayer and Sousa serving better as Bopanna and Roger-Vasselin started to commit more unforced errors. Without a single break of serve, the set went into a tie-breaker after Mayer and Sousa failed to take advantage of two break point opportunities at 4-4. With a 4-3 lead in the tiebreak, Roger-Vasselin's backhand winner down the line saw them take the initiative to eventually close out the match.
Sharan and Ram progress
Divij Sharan and Rajeev Ram beat Fabio Fognini and Marcel Granollers 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 in a tough match that saw Sharan reach the third round of the Australian Open for the first time.
Sharan and Ram had to sweat it out in the first two sets, ultimately prevailing in two hours and 10 minutes.
A break of serve in the first game proved vital as Sharan and Ram lost the first set in 36 minutes. Fognini and Granollers were serving well, winning 83% of the first serve points as Ram and Sharan failed to convert two chances to break at 5-4.
The pair came back stronger in the second, serving better, converting 40% of their break points as Fognini and Granollers were making too many unforced errors that took the match to a decider. The crucial moment in the second set tie-break came at 3-3, when Ram and Sharan took the next three points to take a crucial lead and win the set.
It was a much more confident showing in the third from Ram and Sharan, as they won 87% of their first serve points, resulting in Fognini and Granollers making 11 unforced errors that eventually cost them the match.