Early Rohan shine fades

On Thursday at the Chennai Open, 22-year-old Gilles Muller from Luxembourg showed how to counter the hard-serving Indian qualifier, Rohan Bopanna. Bopanna exhibited flashes of brilliance with his most potent weapon — the serve — before bowing out 3-6, 2-6.

Bopanna on serve all through the first set was matched point for point but Muller countered him with a lot of spin. “I worked on my returns,” Muller said and it sure had telling effect. The second set saw Bopanna resist, but only a fraction better. Muller pointed out that Bopanna needed to work on his angles. “He plays flat,” he remarked, but as Bopanna got ready for doubles, it was game, set and match. He and Prakash Amritraj beat Yves Allegro and Michael Kohlmann 6-3, 6-2.

Earlier, Kristof Vliegen of Belgium stunned sixth seeded Rainer Schuettler of Germany 6-2, 6-4.