Indian tennis players Yuki Bhambri and N Sriram Balaji made a strong start to their French Open 2026 campaign by advancing to the second round of the men’s doubles event at Roland-Garros in Paris.
Bhambri, partnering New Zealand’s Michael Venus, produced a commanding display to defeat Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo and Mariano Kestelboim 7-5, 6-2 in straight sets. The Indo-Kiwi pair stayed neck-and-neck with their opponents during the opening set before securing a crucial break in the 11th game and serving out the set confidently.
Carrying the momentum into the second set, Bhambri and Venus dominated proceedings with an early break and maintained complete control to seal victory in comfortable fashion.
Meanwhile, Balaji and his Brazilian partner Marcelo Demoliner were pushed harder in their first-round clash against Germany’s Constantin Frantzen and Dutch player Robin Haase. The Indo-Brazilian duo eventually prevailed 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 after an intense three-set battle lasting nearly two hours.
Balaji and Demoliner made an aggressive start by earning an early break in the opening set and converting another opportunity late in the set to gain the advantage. Though their opponents bounced back to level the contest in the second set, Balaji and Demoliner regained control in the decider with another early break before closing out the match strongly.
Bhambri, currently India’s top-ranked men’s doubles player, is also set to compete in the mixed doubles category alongside Alexandra Panova later in the tournament.
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