The prestigious Roland Garros Grand Slam witnessed mixed results in the men’s double
action for the Indian fans.
N. Sriram Balaji powered his way into the pre-QF, but Yuki Bhambri lost round 1 despite his recent strong performances on the tour.
Coming in as the alternates, the Indo-Mexican duo of N. Sriram Balaji and Miguel Angel
Reyes-Varela defeated the French pair of Dan Added and Theo Arribage 6-4 3-6 6-2.
Balaji’s strategic strokes and fast reflexes helped the pair earn early breaks throughout the match as they played against the home team, which had a boisterous fan base.
After settling into a rhythm, the Indo-Mexican pair broke the French pair in the opening game
of set 1 to win the set and carried that momentum into the second set by breaking them in the first game.
Though their opponents rallied to win the second set, Balaji’s outstanding play, supported by immaculate baseline angels, helped them win the third set and the match.
Earlier, the pairing of N Sriram Balaji and MA Reyes-Varela defeated R Stalder and N
Verbeek 6-3 6-4 to etch Balaji’s maiden Roland Garros win.
In what could have been a double delight for the fans, Yuki Bhambri and Albano Olivetti lost
their round 1 match against John Peers and Roman Safiullin.
In the rain-interrupted match, Bhambri made unforced errors, costing them the victory. Though Olivetti’s excellent serves kept them on track, Bhambri’s shaky service game and errors on important tiebreaker points cost them the match.
Closely watching the match was Rohan Bopanna, potentially trying to understand and decide
on his partner for the Paris Olympics. Rohan, who is ranked in the top ten of the ATP doubles
rankings, has the privilege of choosing his partner from among Indian players in the top 300.
Balaji now has a solid chance of partnering Bopanna after his impressive performance on
Parisian clay, while Yuki squandered his opportunity with a terrible showing.
And what could be more interesting to watch and should be highly anticipated is that Balaji
could potentially face Rohan Bopanna in the pre-QF match.
Written by Khushi
