Olympic Games Tennis draw : Bopanna-Paes get tough draw; Mirza may face Hingis in semis

08/05/2016

Indian men's doubles team of Rohan Bopanna and Leander Paes will have to be at their best when they face the Polish pair of Lukasz Kubot and Marcin Matkowski in the first round at Rio. Sania Mirza and her partner Prarthana Thombare will face the Chinese pair of Zhang Shuai and Peng Shuai.

Bopanna and Paes, who have not had the best of preparations on and off the field in the to Rio, featured in the top-half of the draw, despite being unseeded. The duo will face the Polish pair of Lukasz Kubot and Marcin Matkowski, both of whom have partnered Paes previously on the tour. Both Kubot and Matkowski are proficient doubles players, and are sure to test the chemistry between Bopanna and Paes in the opening round, which is scheduled to take place on Saturday. This draw also means that Paes and Bopanna could face the No.1 seeds, Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut, in the Quarter-finals.

In the women's doubles draw, Sania Mirza and Prarthana Thombare face the Chinese pair of Peng Shuai and Zhang Shuai. Zhang Shuai is currently the highest-ranked Chinese singles player in the WTA circuit, while Peng Shuai is a former World No.1 in doubles. The draw means that Mirza could face her doubles partner Martina Hingis in the semifinal of the tournament.

Also, read : Leander Paes : Disappointed that after 6 Olympics for India, I haven't been given a room