Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza posted wins in their respective doubles matches at the Cincinnati Open on Thursday. The seventh-seeded Indo-Croatian team of Bopanna and Ivan Dodig reached the men’s doubles quarter-finals while, in the women’s doubles, the fourth-seeded Indo-Chinese team of Mirza and Shuai Peng made it to the semi-finals.
Bopanna and Dodig edged past the Colombian-Italian pairing of Juan Sebastian Cabal and Fabio Fognini in the second round, winning a tight contest 5-7, 7-5, 10-8 in an hour and 41 minutes.
Cabal and Fognini faced nine break points on their serve, but went on to save eight of these. In comparison, Bopanna and Dodig weren’t able to save the sole break point they faced on their serve.
Bopanna and Dodig next face second seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo, who beat Diego Schwartzman and Mischa Zverev 7-5, 6-2.
Gritty win for Mirza-Peng
In the women’s doubles quarter-finals, Mirza and Peng posted an equally tough win to move into the penultimate round of the Cincinnati Open. Mirza and Peng defeated the Romanian team of Irina-Camelia Begu and Raluca Olaru 6-3, 6-7(1), 10-3 in an hour and 40 minutes.
Mirza and Peng saved two of the three break points they faced on their serve and converted three of the 11 break points they had on their opponents’ serve.