The never-say-die spirit was at work as Rohan Bopanna and Matwe Middelkoop saved five match points to knock out Mate Pavic and Nikol Mektic, the reigning Wimbledon champions, from the Roland Garros, in Paris on Saturday.
Bopanna's serve was as venomous as it has been throughout his career and his volleys too were as sharp as ever while his Dutch partner showed exemplary calm under pressure in an edge-of-the-seat action in the men's doubles third round.
A break of serve early in the third set put them at a disadvantageous position but there was no dearth of spirit or class from Bopanna and Middelkoop, who eventually prevailed 6-7 (5) 7-6(3) 7-6 (10) in two hours and 32 minutes.
