Paris: India’s top doubles player Rohan Bopanna advanced to the quarterfinals of the Paris Master with partner Denis Shapovalov but his compatriot Divij Sharan made a second-round exit, here. Bopanna and his Canadian partner outplayed American-Argentine pair of Manuel Gonzalez and Austin Krajicek 6-1 6-3 in their second-round match which lasted just 59 minutes.
The Indo-Canadian team broke the rivals four times and did not face a single breakpoint during its commanding win. However, Sharan and his Kiwi partner Artem Sitak, who entered the event as alternates and knoccked out the fourth seeds earlier, lost 2-6 3-6 to French team of Fabrice Martin and Jeremy Chardy in just 53 minutes.
Sharan has won two titles this season, triumphing at Pune with Bopanna and at St. Petersburg with Igor Zelenay. The title with Sharan in Pune remains Bopanna’s only trophy in 2019. They had united as a team at the beginning of the season, eyeing Tokyo Olympics, but separated after finding it difficult to enter big tournaments with their combined rankings.