ATP Finals: Bopanna-Ebden suffer 2nd consecutive defeat, semi-finals hope hit

Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden's chances of reaching the ATP Finals 2024 doubles semi-finals took a major hit after the duo suffered a loss in their second match of the Bob Bryan Group.

- 

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 on Wednesday.

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 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.