India’s hopes at Wimbledon 2024 were dashed as the pair of Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden bowed out in the second round of the Men’s Doubles on Saturday. The second-seeded duo faced a formidable challenge from Hendrik Jebens and Constantin Frantzen, ultimately succumbing to a straight-sets defeat, 3-6, 6(4)-7(7).
Bopanna and Ebden’s exit marks a significant disappointment after their promising start at the All England Club. They had previously secured a victory against the Netherlands’ Robin Haase and Sander Arends in the first round, winning 7-5, 6-4 in a rain-interrupted match that lasted one hour and 11 minutes.
Australian Open winners Bopanna and Ebden conceded a break in the first set, allowing Jebens and Frantzen to take the lead in the match.
The second set, which was level at five games, was suspended due to rain. Neither team managed to break serve during this set.
When play resumed, the set went into a tie-breaker where Jebens and Frantzen quickly established a 4-1 lead, which they maintained to secure the victory.
The defeat of Bopanna and Ebden adds to a series of early exits for Indian players at this year’s tournament. Yuki Bhambri, along with his French partner Albano Olivetti, also ended their Wimbledon journey in the second round.
The Indo-French pair fought valiantly but fell to Germany’s Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz in a grueling three-set match that lasted two hours and five minutes.
Earlier in the week, Sumit Nagal’s campaign came to an early end as well. Teaming up with Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic, Nagal was unable to progress past the first round of the men’s doubles event. The pair lost 2-6, 2-6 to Spain’s Jaume Munar and Pedro Martinez in a match that lasted just one hour and seven minutes.
Nagal, India’s top-ranked player, had previously exited the men’s singles competition in the opening round. N Sriram Balaji also made an early exit, leaving Indian tennis without any representation in the latter stages of the tournament.