Bopanna, Bhambri crash out of US Open in third round
India’s campaign in the men’s doubles event at the ongoing US Open in New York came to an end on Sunday with both Rohan Bopanna and Yuki Bhambri bowing out of the event with their respective partners. Bopanna/ Ebden, the second seeds and runners-up here last year, were defeated 1-6, 5-7 by 16th seeds Maximo Gonzalez/ Andres Molteni. The Indo-Aussie duo was unable to earn a single break point during the 66-minute encounter while Gonzalez/ Molteni converted three of three break point opportunities to advance to the quarter-finals. Bhambri/ Olivetti also go down in straight sets at the US Open Earlier on Sunday, Yuki Bhambri and French partner Albano Olivetti went down to top seeds Marcel Granollers/ Horacio Zeballos 2-6, 2-6 in another third-round clash. The Indo-French duo was also unable to earn a look at a break point while Granollers/ Zeballos converted four of seven break point chances during the 74-minute win. India’s hopes now will rest on Bopanna in the mixed doubles competition. Bopanna and Indonesian partner Aldila Sutjiadi will take on fourth seeds Ebden/ Krejcikova in a quarter-final clash on Monday.
Bhambri/ Olivetti cause big upset to join Bopanna/ Ebden in third round
India’s Yuki Bhambri and French partner Albano Olivetti caused a big upset at the US Open on Friday, knocking out 15th seeds Austin Krajicek/ Jean-Julien Rojer in the second round of the men’s doubles event. Bhambri/ Olivetti fought back after dropping the first set 4-6 to win the second set 6-3 and force a decider. Krajicek/ Rojer also broke in the eighth game to lead 5-3 in the final set before Bhambri/ Olivetti fought back once again to win four games on the trot and complete the 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 win in just over two hours. The Indo-French duo will face off against either top seeds Marcel Granollers/ Horacio Zeballos or Alexander Erier/ Matwe Middelkoop in the last 16. This result equals Bhambri’s best performance in a Grand Slam doubles event. He also reached the third round of the Australian Open doubles event in 2014. Bopanna wins men’s doubles and mixed doubles matches at the US Open Meanwhile, second seeds Rohan Bopanna and Matt Ebden also advanced to the third round on Friday with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Roberto Carballes Baena/ Federico Coria. The Indo-Australian duo reached the final last year and won the Australian Open in January this year. They will next face 16th seeds Andres Molteni/ Maximo Gonzalez for a spot in the quarter-finals. It was a good day for Bopanna in New York as he also won his first-round mixed doubles match with Indonesian partner Aldila Sutjiadi. The eighth seeds defeated Tim Putz/ Demi Schuurs 7-6, 7-6 to advance to the last 16 where they will face John Peers/ Katerina Sinaikova on Saturday. There was some disappointment for Indian fans with the Indo-Argentine duo Sriram Balaji/ Guido Andreozzi falling in the second round. Balaji/ Andreozzi were defeated 6-7, 4-6 by eighth seeds Neal Skupski/ Michael Venus. In the boys singles qualifying draw, India’s Rethin Pranav Senthil Kumar fell in the final round to American wildcard Keaton Hance 5-7, 2-6. The Sportz Planet Desk,Haresh Ramchandani
Bopanna, Bhambri and Balaji advance to US Open second round
It was a good start for the Indian men in the US Open doubles competition with Rohan Bopanna, Yuki Bhambri and Sriram Balaji all winning their first-round matches with their respective partners. Bopanna and Australia’s Matt Ebden, the second seeds who reached the final here in New York 12 months ago, defeated Robin Haase/ Sander Arends 6-3, 7-5 on Thursday. This was the first win for the Indo-Aussie duo on the U.S. hardcourt swing after early losses in Montreal and Cincinnati. Bopanna/ Ebden advance to face Roberto Carballes Baena/ Federico Coria for a place in the third round. Bhambri, Balaji score maiden US Open doubles winsOn Wednesday, Bhambri and French partner Albano Olivetti reached the second round with a convincing 6-3, 6-4 win over American wildcard duo Ryan Seggerman/ Patrik Trhac. This was Bhambri’s first US Open main draw doubles win. The Indo-French duo will next face 15th seed Austin Krajicek/ Jean-Julien Rojer, both of whom are former Grand Slam doubles champions. Sriram Balaji, partnering Argentina’s Guido Andreozzi, had the toughest time of the three Indians in making it to the second round. The Indo-Argentine duo lost the first set of their match against Marcus Daniell/ Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela before coming through in a third set tiebreak 5-7, 6-1, 7-5 (12-10). This was also Balaji’s first main draw doubles win at the US Open. Up next for Balaji/ Andreozzi are the eighth seeds Neal Skupski/ Michael Venus, both also former Grand Slam doubles champions. Meanwhile, in the first round of the boys singles qualifying event, India’s Rethin Pranav Senthil Kumar advanced to the second round when fourth seed Niels McDonald retired while trailing 3-0 in the first set. Senthil Kumar, playing his first-ever junior Grand Slam, will next face American wildcard Keaton Hance with the winner advancing to the main draw. India’s top-ranked men’s player Sumit Nagal bowed out of the US Open singles event after a straight-sets loss to world No 40 Tallon Griekspoor, of the Netherlands. Griekspoor started off the match on a strong note, winning the first two sets 6-1 and 6-3 before Nagal was able to put up a tougher challenge in the third set. The Indian got the first break of the third set in the 11th game to lead 6-5 and served for the set. However, the Dutchman broke back right away to take the set into a tiebreaker. Nagal led 6-4 and earned himself two set points. However, a forehand error from the Indian and a service winner from Griekspoor levelled the tiebreak at 6-6. The Dutchman then went the next two points to close out the win 6-1, 6-3, 7-6 (10-8) in two hours and 10 minutes on Court 15 at Flushing Meadows. Insert sub-heading: Nagal’s doubles partner Nishioka forced to retire from first round singles clashGriekspoor will go on to play 21st seed Sebastian Baez in the second round while Nagal will focus his efforts on the men’s doubles event where he is partnering with Yoshihito Nishioka. However, Nishioka was forced to retire during the fifth set of his first-round match and it remains to be seen if he will be fit to take the court for the first round doubles encounter, likely to take place on Wednesday or Thursday. This was Nagal’s third appearance in the US Open main draw (now 1-3 record here) and marked the first time that the 27-year-old Indian has competed in the main draw of all the four Grand Slams in the same season. The Sportz Planet Desk,Haresh Ramchandani
Exclusive: “It would be a tough match playing two Americans at home” – Bhambri on US Open first round
India’s No. 2 ranked doubles player Yuki Bhambri and partner Albano Olivetti will begin their US Open campaign against American wildcards Ryan Seggerman/ Patrik Trhac in the first round. Coming into the final Grand Slam of the season ranked a career-high No. 48 in the world, Bhambri will be playing his first match in nearly a month when he takes to the court at Flushing Meadows. In the absence of matches, Bhambri and Olivetti have been putting hard work on the practice courts. “The only reason we ended up playing one tournament (Washington) during the hardcourt stretch is because we did not get into the other events. The Masters in Cincinnati and Montreal, the cut-offs were too high so we did not get in and the same in Winston-Salem. We had a good training week on the hardcourts though and are now looking forward to playing the rest of the season, starting with the US Open,” Bhambri said speaking exclusively to The Sportz Planet. Bhambri and Olivetti have never played Seggerman/ Trhac before but the Indian is aware that it will be a tough assignment. “Never played them before. This is the first time. From what I’ve read about them, they have been playing mostly on the ATP Challenger Tour but obviously they are top 100 doubles players so they must be good. I’m sure it would be a tough match playing two Americans at home. We are definitely going to try and prepare well and put our best foot forward,” he added. “Definitely a positive sign for Indian doubles going forward” – Yuki Bhambri Bhambri was one of four Indians to feature in the men’s doubles draw when it was released – the second Grand Slam in a row with such a high representation for India (Sumit Nagal has since had to pull out after his partner Yoshihito Nishioka retired from his first-round singles match and withdrew from the doubles as well). The 32-year-old described this as a positive sign for Indian tennis and is confident that the numbers will go up in the future. “I’m sure we are going to see more and more Indians on the doubles draws as well. It’s no coincidence that due to the support the Doubles Dream of India has been providing that a lot of our players have been doing well and reaching career-highs and I’m sure the number will increase from four in the future as well. Definitely a positive sign for Indian doubles going forward,” the Indian commented. Bhambri’s first round match at the US Open will take place on Wednesday or Thursday this week. The Sportz Planet Desk,Haresh Ramchandani
