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Duckworth was coming with a reputation of having won four titles out of six final appearances and was in fine form after having reached the last four of the ATP 250 in Pune last week.
Paes' return to KSLTA is his “one last roar”, a gesture of showing gratitude to everyone who has helped shaped his career. Bengaluru Open will be Pae's last event on the Indian soil.
As Paes walked into the stadium for his warm-up, minutes before his first round doubles match, the spectators were on their feet, cheering the 18-time Grand Slam winner and Olympic medallist, who in all probability is playing his last ATP event on Indian soil.
Sumit Nagal, Prajnesh Gunneswaran and Ramkumar Ramanathan are the singles players in the squad while Paes and Rohan Bopanna will do the doubles duty against Croatia.
While the seventh seed Prajnesh threw in the towel to a lowly ranked Benjamin Bonzi of France 6-7 (5), 0-6, eighth seed Sumit crashed out losing to 11th seed Blaz Rola of Slovenia 3-6, 3-6.
Earlier this week, Swiss maestro Roger Federer had posted a video of himself volleying, while slamming the ball on the wall.
In an exclusive interview with Malayala Manorama, the legendary player looks back at his journey with joy. He also talks about the farewell tour, future plans, and more.
The veteran is contemplating extending his career by another year to bid for an eighth Olympic appearance.
India will now compete in World Group I in September to get back to the Davis Cup Qualifiers.
The 46-year-old, who started his professional career in 1991, has won 18 doubles and mixed doubles Grand Slam titles and a bronze medal in the singles at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
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