Madrid: Rohan Bopanna notched up his first win on the ATP tour in 2021 when the India star and his doubles partner Denis Shapovalov of Canada stunned top seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah in straight sets in the men’s doubles Round of 16 at Madrid Open Masters 1000 tournament on Wednesday.
Rohan Bopanna and Denis Shapovalov reached the quarter-final at the prestigious clay-court tournament with a 6-3, 6-4 with the top-ranked doubles pairing Farah and Juan Sebastian. Notably, this is the first time Bopanna has joined hands with Shapopvalov in this season.
Bopanna had a 0-7 record on the tour before Wednesday’s tie and he ended the drought for a win, gunning down the top seeds in Madrid. Bopanna and Shapovalov will take on Alexander Zverev and Tim Puetz in the quarter-finals in Madrid.
Earlier in the day, World No. 2 and top seed Rafael Nadal came up with a strong show in men’s singles second-round of Madrid Open, easing past 18-year-old countryman Carloz Alcaraz in straight sets. Nadal will face Australian qualifier Alexel Popyrin in the third round at the clay-court tournament.
Meanwhile, World No. 3 Daniil Medvedev’s love-hate relationship with claycourts continued on Wednesday as he took out his frustration on the court before overcoming Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina for his first career win at the Madrid Open.