The Indian challenge at Wimbledon’s men’s doubles has seen contrasting results. Yuki Bhambri, partnering with Frenchman Albano Olivetti, secured a convincing straight-sets victory to progress to the second round, while N Sriram Balaji and his British teammate Luke Johnson exited the tournament in the opening round.
Yuki Bhambri and Albano Olivetti triumph
Yuki Bhambri and Albano Olivetti displayed impressive teamwork on Thursday, defeating the Kazakh duo of Alexander Bublik and Alexander Shevchenko 6-4, 6-4. They held their nerve, saving two break points on their serve while capitalizing on three opportunities to break their opponents’ serve.
Their reward is a clash against a strong German pair – Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz – in the next round.
N Sriram Balaji and Luke Johnson fall short
Sriram Balaji, who will be partnering Rohan Bopanna at the upcoming Paris Olympics, couldn’t replicate Bhambri’s success.
He and Johnson faced a tough challenge against the highly-seeded pairing of Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador and Mate Pavic of Croatia, losing 4-6, 5-7.
Rohan Bopanna still in race
However, there’s still an Indian presence in the men’s doubles. Rohan Bopanna, teaming up with Australian Matthew Ebden, had already secured their place in the second round with a win on Wednesday.The focus now shifts to Bhambri and Olivetti as they aim to continue their winning streak and advance further in the prestigious Wimbledon tournament.
Editors pick
