NEW YORK: India's Rohan Bopanna and his Indonesian partner Aldila Sutjiadi staged a remarkable comeback to progress to the mixed doubles quarterfinals at the US Open. After losing the first set without winning a single game, the eighth-seeded duo turned the match around to secure a hard-fought victory.
Bopanna and Sutjiadi were pushed to the brink by Australia's John Peers and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic, but eventually triumphed 0-6, 7-6(5), 10-7 in the second-round match that lasted one hour and 13 minutes.
"Well, sometimes it's not about how you start; it's about how you finish. They started lights out, and we changed our strategy a little by varying the pace, so that helped," Bopanna told PTI.
The pair will next face fourth seeds Matthew Ebden and Barbora Krejcikova in the quarterfinals.
Earlier, Bopanna and Sutjiadi had won their opening round against Germany's Tim Puetz and Dutch player Demi Schuurs, prevailing 7-6(7), 7-6(5).
In addition to his mixed doubles success, the 44-year-old Indian also advanced to the third round of men's doubles alongside Matthew Ebden, following a 6-2, 6-4 win over Spain's Roberto Carballes Baena and Federico Coria from Argentina.