Turin (Italy): Ace Indian tennis player Rohan Bopanna and his Australian men's doubles partner Matthew Ebden started their ATP Finals campaign on a losing note, suffering a straight-set defeat in a group stage match.
Bopanna and Ebden were defeated by the Italian duo of Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori 2-6, 3-6 in just 56 minutes here on Monday. They had defeated the same pair in this year's Australian Open final. However, the defeat marked Bopanna and Ebden's third consecutive defeat to the Italians this year.
Bolelli and Vavassori, the fourth seeds, dominated from the outset, breaking their rivals in the second game.
A double fault by the Indo-Australian pair in the eighth game allowed the Italians to secure another break of serve, further thwarting any hopes of a comeback.
Buoyed by the local support, Bolelli and Vavassori continued their domination in the second set as well, taking the crucial break in the fourth game.
Bopanna, who is appearing in the tournament for the fourth time, and Ebden, struggled to match their Italian opponents, failing to earn even a single break point throughout the match.
The serving woes added to their difficulties, as they won only 58 per cent of points (19 out of 33) on their first serve and 47 per cent (7 out of 15) on their second.
In contrast, the Italians were far more efficient, winning 89 per cent of points on their first serve (31 out of 35) and 83 per cent on their second (5 out of 6).
Additionally, Bopanna and Ebden committed two double faults, both of which led to breaks of serve.
Bopanna and Ebden lie fourth in the Bob Bryan Group. They will take on top seeds Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador and Croatian Mate Pavic in their next group game on Wednesday.
They had reached the semifinals in the last edition.