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Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden's hopes of reaching the ATP Finals 2024 doubles semi-finals were dimmed after the duo suffered a loss in their second match of the Bob Bryan Group on Wednesday.
The Indian and Australian pair, seeded sixth, endured a defeat against El Salvador's Marcelo Arevalo and Croatia's Mate Pavic, the top seeds, by a 7-5, 6-3 on the hard courts of the Pala Alpitour. Bopanna and Ebden drew the first blood by breaking the top seeds' serve in the third game of the first set. However, Pavic and Arevalo bounced back in the sixth game and took the all-important 12th game to take the lead. Bopanna and Ebden fell 4-1 behind in the second set before making a strong comeback and reducing the deficit to 4-3. However, the current world No. 1 pair, held their nerves and took the next two games to close the match out. This was the second defeat on the trot for last year's semi-finalists. Before losing to the El Salvador and Croatian pair, Bopanna and Ebden lost against Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori in their opening group game on Monday. With another defeat to their name, Bopanna and Ebden are at the bottom of their group. Only the top two duos from the two groups will earn a spot in the final four. In their final group match, Bopanna and Ebden will face Germany's Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz. Even if they win, a spot in the semi-finals won't be so easy to grab. The other three teams already have a win in their kitty. Bopanna and Ebden's only chance of making it into the top four is only possible if they win convincingly against Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz. Along with this Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori need to win both of their remaining matches. (ANI)
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