Bopanna loses in first round

Rohan Bopanna, who made himself unavailable for India8217;s Davis Cup tie in Uzbekistan, failed to advance beyond the first round of the doubles event at Delray Beach on Wednesday, according to information reaching here.

The 26-year-old, who is playing at this event with South African Chris Haggard, has decided to concentrate on his individual prospects on the ATP tour with a view to playing doubles in the majors, but this particular campaign ended with a defeat.

This was a close match, though, with Italian Davide Sanguinetti and Vince Spadea of America pulling off a remarkable comeback after being a set down.

The Bopanna-Haggard duo won the first set comfortably, dropping just two games.

The second went to a tie-break, and it was their opponents who won this one, taking the match into the super tie-break.

Sanguinetti and Spadea took the challenge head-on, and eventually won their doubles match 2-6, 7-6 3, 10-2.