Leander Paes knocked out of Shanghai Masters, Rohan Bopanna surges ahead with Lukasz Kubot

Leander Paes and Daniel Nestor were knocked out in the second round

Veteran tennis star, Leander Paes bowed out of Shanghai Masters in the 2nd round on Wednesday. Partnering with Australia’s John Peers, the 42-year old could not cope with the French-Canadian combine of Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Daniel Nestor who triumphed by a margin of 6-3 6-1.

Daniel Nestor, in particular, showed his experience by inciting errors from his opponents in crucial moments. He was ably complemented by his French partner as they seized the initiative at the very beginning of the match. Having been outsmarted by the same opponents in the 2015 China Open, Paes and Peers were unable to stage a comeback into the encounter.

Earlier, the Indo-Australian duo had defeated Tommy Robredo and Andreas Seppi in straight sets. This had come, after the experienced Paes had started showing signs of rustiness in his volleys.

However Paes who had won the 2015 US Open Mixed Doubles crown with Martina Hingis as his partner, came into the tournament on the aftermath of an uncharacteristic slump in his doubles form. In 2015, he had crashed out of the doubles events in all Grand Slams. The other half of his unsuccessful partnership was Daniel Nestor who ironically was part of the pair which defeated him in the Shanghai Masters.

Bopanna triumphs

Meanwhile, Rohan Bopanna continued his impressive form by notching up another win with Lukasz Kubot. Even though they struggled to impose themselves on the unfancied partnership of Dominic Inglot and Robert Lindstedt, the Indo-Polish pair prevailed 6-3 7-6. Bopanna who had won the 2015 Madrid Masters with Romania’s Florin Mergea, began his new partnership with Kubot on a promising note with the victory.