Indian tennis player N Sriram Balaji, together with his Mexican partner Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela Martinez, have earned a place in the second round of the men’s doubles event at the French Open 2024, hosted at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris. Balaji and Miguel emerged victorious as they defeated USA’s Reese Stalder and Sem Verbeek of the Netherlands in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-4. They are now set to face the French duo of Daniel Added and Theo Arribage in the upcoming round of the esteemed Grand Slam tournament.
The opening set witnessed a fierce fourth game as Reese and Sem struggled to counter the aggressive play of Balaji and Miguel, leading to a 4-1 advantage for the latter, ultimately resulting in them winning the set. The subsequent set proved to be a more closely contested affair, but Balaji and Miguel managed to secure crucial games and close out the match in just over an hour.
On the other hand, Yuki Bhambri, along with his French partner Albano Olivetti, suffered a defeat as they fell short with a score of 6-3, 7(7)-6(5) against Australia’s John Peers and Roman Safiullin in the opening round, abruptly concluding their campaign.
Previously in the week, India’s Sumit Nagal, ranked 95th in the world, encountered a difficult loss against the 18th seed Karen Khachanov in the men’s singles event. Nagal was the sole Indian representation in the singles category at Roland Garros 2024.
Looking ahead, Rohan Bopanna will be competing in the men’s doubles event alongside his Australian partner Matthew Ebden. The duo, seeded second, is scheduled to face the all-Brazilian team of Orlando Luz and Marcelo Zormann. Bopanna will also be teaming up with Veronika Kudermetova in the mixed doubles category, where they are lined up to play against Italy’s Andrea Vavassori and Liudmila Samsonova in their opening match.
As Indian tennis players continue to make their mark at the French Open 2024, fans eagerly anticipate their upcoming performances on the grand stage of international tennis.