French Open 2025: Indian challenge ends after Rohan Bopanna and Yuki Bhambri crash out
India's campaign at the 2025 French Open came to an end on Sunday, as Rohan Bopanna and Yuki Bhambri bowed out in the third round of the men's doubles with their respective partners. Veteran Bopanna, partnering Czech player Adam Pavlsek, fought valiantly but lost 2-6, 6-7(5) to the in-form second-seeded duo of Harri Helivaara and Henry Patten. Ranked third and fourth in the world respectively, the Finnish-British pair held firm in key moments despite a spirited second-set challenge from the Indo-Czech team.advertisementHelivaara and Patten started strong, storming to a 5-1 lead in the opening set with a double break. The Finn served out the set to love, sealing it with an overhead smash. Bopanna and Pavlsek responded well in the second set, with the Indian holding serve to love in his first service game. However, their only opening came at 2-3 when Patten began game six with a double fault and fell behind 0-30. The Briton, though, recovered with four straight points to avert the danger.French Open Day 8 Live
With neither side able to force a break, the set went to a tie-break, where the second seeds edged ahead. Helivaara struck a stunning return winner on the first match point to secure victory.Later in the day, Yuki Bhambri and his American partner Robert Galloway were beaten 4-6, 4-6 by the ninth-seeded American duo of Christian Harrison and Evan King. An early break put Bhambri and Galloway on the back foot in the first set. They showed resilience, saving four set points in game nine after being 0-40 down, but Harrison served out the set despite falling behind 0-30.advertisementAt 4-4 in the second set, Bhambri dropped serve - a decisive moment in the match. He sent a smash long at 30-all before Galloway netted a volley on break point. Serving for the match, King closed it out after Bhambri netted a return and Galloway hit another wide.With earlier exits for N Sriram Balaji and Rithvik Bollipalli, the defeats of Bopanna and Bhambri marked the end of India's run in the men's doubles draw at Roland Garros.In the junior event, 17-year-old Manas Dhamne - widely regarded as one of India's brightest young prospects - was ousted in the first round of the boys' singles. Having come through qualifying, Dhamne lost 5-7, 3-6 to fellow qualifier Ronit Karki of the United States. The teenager struggled to find rhythm and fell short of expectations on the day.There is still a glimmer of hope in the junior draw, as Hitesh Chauhan - another Indian qualifier - is scheduled to face Sweden's Ludvig Fredrik Hede in his opening match.
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