Bopanna-Sutjiadi pair fights back from brink to enter mixed doubles quarterfinals

New York, Sep 01: India's Rohan Bopanna and his Indonesian partner Aldila Sutjiadi progressed to the mixed doubles quarterfinals after losing the first set without getting a single game, turning it around remarkably at the US Open, here.

Seeded eighth, Bopanna and Sutjiadi were pushed to the brink by Australia's John Pears and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic, but eventually, walked out 0-6 7-6(5) 10-7 winners in the second-round match that lasted one hour and 13 minutes.

"Well sometimes it's not about how you start, it's about how you finish. They started also lights out and we changed a little strategy with varying the pace so that also helped," Bopanna told PTI.

Bopanna and Sutjiadi will next play fourth seeds Matthew Ebden and Barbora Krejcikova.

Bopanna and his partner had won 7-6(7) 7-6(5) against Germany's Tim Puetz and Dutch player Demi Schuurs in the opening round.

The 44-year-old Indian had also moved to the third round of men's doubles along with Ebden following a 6-2 6-4 win over Spain's Roberto Carballes Baena and Federico Coria from Argentina.