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Home  » Sports » Paes-Bopanna face Kubot-Matkowski in Rio opener

Paes-Bopanna face Kubot-Matkowski in Rio opener

Last updated on: August 04, 2016 22:27 IST
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IMAGE: Rohan Bopanna, right, and Leander Paes in action during the Rakuten Open 2014 in Tokyo, on October 1, 2014. Photograph: Atsushi Tomura/Getty Images

The Indian tennis pairing of Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna are pitted against Poland's Marcin Matkowski and Lukasz Kubot in the first round of the men's doubles at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Ranked 55 in the world, the legendary Paes will become the first tennis player to appear in seven Olympics when he steps on the courts with Bopanna for the first round match.

Paes and Bopanna, ranked 15th in the world, have played only one match together this season in the run-up to the Games while Kubot (ranked 25) and Matkowski (27) have played many matches in the first half of the season together.

Their best performance is a runners-up finish at the Estoril Open in Portugal.

Paes and Bopanna combined to win the doubles rubber in the recent Davis Cup tie against Korea in Chandigarh.

Paes, winner of 18 Grand Slam titles, won a singles bronze at the 1996 Atlanta Games and this could be his last chance to claim another Olympic medal.

In the women's doubles, world number one Sania Mirza and Prarthana Thombare have the Chinese pair of Peng Shuai and Shuai Zhang as their first round opponents.

The mixed doubles draw, where India is a strong contender with Sania and Bopanna teaming up, hasn't been made yet.

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