While the focus has been on the Men's and Women's singles campaign at Wimbledon 2017, tennis fans in India are also gearing up to watch doubles veterans Rohan Bopanna and Leander Paes in action.
The Grand Slam winners begin their Men's doubles campaign with respective partners on Thursday, July 6 in London. 44-year-old Paes begins pursuit of a second Wimbledon Men's doubles title, partnering with world number 42 Adil Shamasdin of Canada, in the R64 against unseeded Austrian pairing of Julian Knowle and Philipp Oswald.
Paes and Shamsadin are strong favourites to make the second round at Wimbledon after the Indo-Canadian pair's recent success. The duo head into the ongoing grasscourt major on the back of some positive results.
Paes' first title with Shamsadin came at Leon earlier this year on hard courts, after which the pair successfully rejoined at Aegon Ilkley Trophy last month to win the Challenger crown, beating Great Britain's Brydan Klein and Joe Salisbury in the title match. At Antalya Open last month, the pair progressed to the semi-final only to lose to Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic.
On the other hand, their opponents Knowle and Philipp suffered a first-round exit in Nottingham last month, before which they were ousted as early as in the R16 round in Nottingham Challenger by Yuki Bhambri and Dudi Sela.
Bopanna eyes opening-round win
Bopanna partners with Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France and the eighth-seeded pair face a stiff test in the opening round against German pair of Mischa Zverev and Dustin Brown.
The 37-year-old created history when he won his first Grand Slam title at the French Open in the mixed doubles category with Canada's Gabriela Dabrowski. His performances in the Men's doubles circuit have also been on the money as he won the Monte Carlo Masters with Pablo Cuevas and followed it up with a quarter-final appearance in Rome.
On grass, Bopanna combined with Ivan Dodig at the Queen's and progressed to the semi-final, where he was beaten by Roger-Vasselin and Julien Benneteau. The Indian tennis star then finished as runner-up at Nottingham after pairing with Brazil's Andre Sa.
Bopanna is joining hands with Roger-Vasselin for the first time. The latter has also produced some fine performances on the Men's doubles circuit this season.
A lot is expected of the eighth-seeded pair in Wimbledon, but they have to be at their best to overcome singles stars Brown and Mischa, who have formed a fresh doubles association.
When and where to watch live
Paes' Men's doubles first-round encounter is the first match on Court 8. It starts at 11:30 am BST, 4 pm IST.
Bopanna's Men's doubles first-round encounter is the third match on Court 9. The first match at the said court will begin at 11:30 am BST, 4 pm IST.
TV and live streaming information are given below.
India: TV: Star Sports Select 2HD. Live Streaming: Hotstar.
Canada: TV: CTV and TSN. Live Streaming: TSN TV.
Germany: TV: Sky Deutschland. Live streaming: Sky Go.
UK: TV: BBC One and BBC Two. Live Streaming: BBC iPlayer.
Spain: TV: Movistar+.
Australia: TV: Fox Sports. Live Streaming: Foxtel.
USA: TV: ESPN. Live streaming: Watch ESPN.
France and Middle East: TV: Bein Sports. Live Streaming: Bein Sports Connect.
Asia: TV: Fox Sports Asia. Live Streaming: Fox Sports Play Asia.
China: TV: Beijing TV.
