July 02, (THEWILL) – For the first time in the history of the Open era in a Grand Slam competition, there was an all-Indian mixed-doubles match at Wimbledon in Friday’s first round of matches in the doubles events.
Straight out of the first service, the experienced pair of Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza showed their mettle to beat first time pairing of Ramkaumar Ramanathan and Ankita Raina for a straight sets 6-2 7-6 (5) victory.
However, the major talking point was the piece of history that the teams created with their competing against each other on Friday as it was the first fo two Indian teams to go against each other at a tennis major.
The debut Grand Slam appearance for Ramkumar, whose previous 21 attempts to qualify for the singles main draw of a tennis major did not materialise, was a brief but joyful one. Together with Raina, they made their more illustrious opponents sweat out the second set by taking the lead with a service break, before caving in.
The powerful service game of Bopanna, who was clearly the best player on the court, made it a tough encounter for the debutants, coupled with solid ground strokes from the baseline as well as the ability to execute a superior net game while giving his partner Mirza space to shine.
Ramkumar and Raina were no pushovers however. He served big when it mattered while Raina gave her all after growing in confidence as the match wore on all the way to the end.
On Mirza’s part, there is a lot that will need to improve on her serve and she will be hard-pressed to improve quickly as they encounter more experienced doubles opponents as they progress to other rounds of the competition.
In all, the match will be remembered for the all-Indian pairing and it will go down in history at the first ever at this level of professional tennis competitions, even as Ramkumar and Raina exit the mixed-doubles event.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
