Bopanna, Barrientos make first-round exit from Australian Open men's doubles event

Former world number one Rohan Bopanna and his new Colombian partner Nicolas Barrientos bowed out of the Australian Open men's doubles event with an opening-round loss to the Spanish team of Pedro Martinez and Jaume Munar in Melbourne on Tuesday.

Bopanna and Barrientos went down 5-7, 6-7 (5) in a match that lasted close to two hours.

The 14th-seeded Indo-Colombian pair began on a promising note but faltered in crucial moments, allowing the Spaniards to capitalise and secure victory.

Bopanna and Barrientos got off to a solid start, holding serve comfortably in the initial games. However, the Spanish pair gradually gained momentum, showcasing consistency from the baseline and tactical net play.

The decisive moment came late in the set when Martinez and Munar earned a crucial break to take the opener. In a roller-coaster second set, both the pairs pushed each other to the limit.

Martinez and Munar first cruised to a 5-3 lead and appeared poised to close out the match while serving for it. However, Bopanna and Barrientos staged a spirited fightback, breaking their opponents' serve to level the score at 5-5. The set ultimately went to a tie-break in which the Spaniards kept their composure, edging past the 14th seeds 7-5 to clinch the match.

The 44-year-old Indian had won the 2024 edition with his Australian partner Matthew Ebden. That historic victory made Bopanna, who was 43 at that time, the oldest man in the Open Era to win a Grand Slam title.

However, the Bopanna-Ebden partnership concluded after the Turin ATP Finals in November last year leading to his new pairing with Barrientos.

Earlier, India's top ranked singles player Sumit Nagal also made a first-round exit, losing to world No.25 Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic in straight sets on Monday.