Bopanna-Mergea go down fighting in Paris Masters quarters

Bopanna, ranked World No. 14 and Mergea, ranked World No. 15 in doubles have won two titles since they joined hands earlier this year- at the ATP World Tour MAsters 1000 and the Mercedes Cup. The pair have, however, struggled since then to win any major tournaments.

Pitted against Ivan Dodig and top-ranked Marcelo Melo, to whom they had lost to in the Cincinnati Masters quarterfinals earlier this year, the pair lost the first set 5-7. 

They however valiantly fought back to take the second set to a tie-breaker, enforcing the decider. Despite a remarkable resistance in the third, the duo lost the match in a nail-biting tie-breaker. They had earlier defeated the Colombian duo of Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah 6-7(3), 6-4, 10-5 on Wednesday. 

Bopanna and Mergea are currenly ranked No. 8 and were set to seal the last spot for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals to be held in London from November 15-22. The pair, however, are now left to hope for a loss for the other pair of contenders, Canadian-American duo Vasek Pospisil and Jack Sock. Pospisil and Sock shocked top seeds and four-time champions Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan 7-6(7-3), 6-4 for a place in the BNP Paribas Masters semi-finals. The pair will wrest the final spot from Bopanna and Mergea if they manage to win the final at Paris.