Bopanna-Mergea ousted from Indian Wells Masters

Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea. File photo.

Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea suffered first round defeat for the second time in a row, crashing out of the BNP Paribas Open.

The fifth seed Indo-Romanian pair lost 6-2 4-6 4-10 to Spanish team of Feliciano Lopez and Mark Lopez in the opening round of the $7,037,595 hard court event.

They made a superb start by breaking their rivals twice in the opening set and faced no breakpoint on their serve. However, the Spaniards worked their way back in the match. They cashed in on a break chance in a close second set and force a Super Tie Breaker in which they outplayed Bopanna and Mergea.