Melbourne: Divij Sharan equalled his best
Grand Slam performance by reaching the men's doubles third
round at the Australian Open, while Rohan Bopanna also entered
the pre-quarterfinals with his partner, here today.
Sharan and American Ram faced stiff resistance from Fabio
Fognini and Marcel Granollers before winning 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-2
in the second round which lasted for two hours and eight
minutes.
The left-handed Sharan's serve came under pressure in the
tight second set but he was excellent at the net, producing
some quality volleys.
Last year Sharan had made the third round at the French
Open with Purav Raja. He had also reched the US Open third
round in 2013.
Also making progress was the 10th seeded Indo-French team
of Bopanna and Edouard Roger-Vasselin, who knocked out
Portugal's Joao Sousa and Leonardo Mayer of Argentina
6-2 7-6 (3).
They are now up against seventh seeds Mate Pavic of
Croatia and Austria's Oliver Marach who edged out Artem Sitak
and Wesley Koolhof 6-7 (5) 6-4 6-4. PTI
