Bopanna-Mergea win in French Open second round

Sixth seeds Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea won their second round men's doubles French Open match, beating French pair Gregoire Barrere and Quentin Halys 6-3, 6-4 here on Friday.

Bopanna-Mergea took a big headstart in the first set, jumping to a 4-1 lead. They maintained their dominance to reach 5-2 and were in total control as they claimed the first set 6-3 on Court 6.

The Indo-Romanian pair maintained ascendancy, breaking their opponents' first service game to quickly jump 2-0 up. But they were pegged back with the French pair breaking back immediately to 2-2.

Bopanna-Mergea converted three of the eight break points received in the second set to ultimately claim the second set 6-4.

They won 67 of the total 121 points played, committing seven unforced errors as compared to 2 by their opponents.

But conversion of break points turned crucial as Bopanna-Mergea won four of nine break points opposed to just two of four by Barrere-Halys.

Bopanna-Mergea outclassed Frenchmen Stephane Robert and Alexandre Sidorenko 6-2, 6-2 in the first round.

--IANS

sam/bg