India’s veteran doubles star Rohan Bopanna and his American partner Ben Shelton exited the Madrid Open 2025 in the Round of 32 on Wednesday, just a day after pulling off a thrilling first-round win against the eighth-seeded American duo Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow.
Bopanna and Shelton had opened their campaign with a come-from-behind 6-7(5), 7-5, 10-7 victory in a match lasting 1 hour 41 minutes. Despite firing 10 aces and winning 87 total points in that opening encounter, their Madrid journey came to an end in the very next round.
The pair struggled with five double faults, but made up for it with strong returns, winning 32 receiving points and converting 4 of 10 break points. Their ability to step up in clutch moments was on display during the match tiebreak, where they held their nerve to clinch the win.
However, their momentum couldn’t carry over as they failed to replicate the performance in the pre-quarterfinals.
Bopanna and Shelton had stunned the 8th-seeded American duo Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow 6-7(5), 7-5, 10-7 in a tight 1 hour 41-minute clash in the first round. After recovering from an early break to take a 4-3 lead in the first set, they eventually lost the tie-break 5-7. In the second set, the Indo-American pair broke late at 6-5 to force a decider, where they dominated the match tiebreak, jumping to a 6-3 lead and sealing the win 10-7.
Meanwhile, India’s Yuki Bhambri and partner Robert Galloway also crashed out in the first round with a 3-6, 6-7(4) loss to the second-seeded pair Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten.