New Delhi:
Rohan Bopanna and Rushmi Chakravarthi scored dominant victories in the singles as India made a confident start to its camapign in the tennis event of the Commonwealth Games on Monday.
Bopanna opened India's account with an effortless 6-1, 6-4 win over Uganda's Rober Buyinza in the first round of the men's singles while Chakravarthi demolished Lesotho's Pinki Agnes Montlha 6-0, 6-1 in the women' singles.
However, there was heartbreak for India as well as mixed doubles pair of Bopanna and Nirupama Sanjeev went down fighting 3-6, 6-3, 3-6 to top seeded Australian duo of Paul Hanley and Anastasia Rodionova.
Nirupama, who is coming out of retirement, supported Bopanna well and raised the hopes of an upset by clinching the second set but could not continue with the momentum.
An early break of Bopanna's serve in the decisive set handed the Australians 3-0 lead and although the Indians kept coming hard at their much-fancied opponents, the top seeded pair got points at crucial junctures to ensure they do not become a first day casualty.
Bopanna and Nirupama made a stunning comeback from a set down. They put up a spirited show under pressure, creating a big 5-0 lead by breaking both Hanley and Rodionova early in the second set.
Hanley prevented a whitewash by holding his serve in the sixth game. A smashing overhead volley by Rodionova earned the Australians their first break off Nirupama's serve but Bopanna drew parity by holding the ninth game.
However, the Australians justified the top billing as Hanley closed the match in their favour with an ace.
Nirupama is still in contention as she has teamed up with Poojashree Venkatesh for the women's doubles.
Before this match, Rushmi needed just 41 minutes to sent packing her rival.
While early in the morning, Bopanna was too hot for a player, who has just one ranking point in the ATP charts, as he completed the win in just one hour and two minutes.
Bopanna today dropped 114 places in the ranking chart to be at 587 but he was coming into the event after playing a crucial role in the Davis Cup tie against Brazil and was hardly troubled by the African player.
With two break of serves, Bopanna raced to a comfortable 5-1 lead in the opening set and pocketed the opening set in just 21 minutes.
Buyinza, ranked 1601, overcame the initial jitters and started to serve well in the second set but unforced errors cost him dearly.
After missing four break points, Bopanna converted the fifth to get his first break -- in the fifth game -- to go up 3-2 in second set.
He had a chance to close the set in the ninth game but Buyinza played his best tennis to save that point but he could not stop the Indian to serve out the match in the next game.
Poojashree and the mixed doubles pair of Sania Mirza and Leander Paes are scheduled to play in the evening session.