Paris: India’s tennis pair Rohan Bopanna-Sriram Balaji and singles player Sumit Nagal will lock horns against French opponents in their first round matches of Paris Olympics 2024.
World No. 4 doubles player Bopanna and N Sriram Balaji, ranked 65th, have been pitted against Fabien Reboul and Edouard Roger-Vasselin in the first round, as per Olympics.com.
Roger-Vasselin is 11th in the ATP Rankings for doubles while Reboul is 34th. Both pairs are unseeded in the Paris 2024 men’s doubles tennis event.
The Indian tennis players could have their task cut out if they get past the home favourites in the opening round with the winner of Daniil Medvedev-Roman Safiullin (neutral athletes) and second seeds Kevin Krawietz-Tim Putz (Germany) waiting for them in the second round.
World No. 80 Sumit Nagal, meanwhile, will take on 68th-ranked Corentin Moutet in his opener. An entry in the second round will see Nagal battle either Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff (world No. 34) or Australia’s Alex de Minaur (world No. 6).
The 44-year-old Bopanna, who made his Olympic debut at London 2012, will return to compete at his third Summer Games.
Rohan Bopanna partnered Mahesh Bhupathi for the men’s doubles at London 2012 and reached the second round.
At Rio 2016, Bopanna and Sania Mirza missed out on a historic podium finish in the mixed doubles after losing the bronze medal match. Bopanna and Leander Paes, India’s only Olympic medallist in tennis, paired for the men’s doubles at Rio but faltered in the opening round. Bopanna could not make it to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
On the other hand, Sumit Nagal became the first Indian to win a singles match at the Olympics in over 25 years with a win over Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin in the opening round at Tokyo 2020, a release said.
However, his stay was cut short following a straight-set loss to the then-world No. 2 Daniil Medvedev in the second round.
The 34-year-old N Sriram Balaji, chosen by Bopanna as his partner for the Paris Olympics, will make his Summer Games debut.
The men’s singles event at Paris 2024 will see 64 players compete for medals while the men’s doubles competition will feature 32 teams. All matches will be played on the clay courts at the Roland Garros from July 27 to August 4.
Paris Olympics will begin on Friday.
Men’s singles round 1: Sumit Nagal vs Corentin Moutet (France)
Men’s doubles round 1: Rohan Bopanna/N Sriram Balaji vs Fabien Reboul/Edouard Roger-Vasselin (France).
