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Yuki Bhambri Advances to Australian Open Doubles Third Round

India's Yuki Bhambri and Swedish partner Andre Goransson staged a comeback to win their second-round men's doubles match at the Australian Open. The victory marks Bhambri's first appearance in the third round of the event's men's doubles since 2014. In contrast, fellow Indian Sriram Balaji and his Austrian partner were defeated by the fourth seeds, ending their campaign. Bhambri now stands as the sole Indian player left in the tournament.

Key Points: Yuki Bhambri Advances, Sriram Balaji Exits Aus Open Doubles

  • Bhambri/Goransson win in three sets
  • Match halted by extreme heat policy
  • Balaji/Oberleitner fall to fourth seeds
  • Bhambri's first third round since 2014
2 min read

Aus Open: Yuki Bhambri advances, Sriram Balaji loses men's doubles round two

Yuki Bhambri reaches the Australian Open men's doubles third round. Sriram Balaji's run ends in the second round. Get the latest results and updates.

"Bhambri is now the only Indian tennis player remaining in contention at the Australian Open 2026. - Report"

Melbourne, Jan 24

India's Yuki Bhambri and his partner Andre Goransson of Sweden fought back from a set behind to beat Mexico's Santiago Gonzalez and the Netherlands' David Pel in the men's doubles second round at the Australian Open 2026 on Saturday. India, however, suffered a setback as another star, Sriram Balaji, and his partner went out of the competition at Melbourne Park.

Bhambri, India's top-ranked men's doubles player, and Goransson, the 10th seeds, came from a set down to beat Gonzalez and Pel 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-3 in a hard-fought second-round clash. The Indo-Swedish pair was slow off the blocks and dropped the opening set after Bhambri was broken in the third game.

The match was suspended due to the Australian Open's extreme heat policy when the second set was tied at 2-2.

However, Bhambri, 22nd in the men's doubles ATP rankings, and Goransson regrouped well, holding serve consistently across the contest. After edging a tight second-set tie-break, Bhambri and Goransson asserted control in the decider, breaking their opponents twice to seal the match.

With Saturday's victory, Bhambri, a former junior Australian Open champion in singles, reached the third round of the men's doubles for the first time since 2014, when he partnered New Zealand's Michael Venus. His best Grand Slam performance came last year at the US Open, where he reached the semifinals with Michael Venus.

Bhambri is now the only Indian tennis player remaining in contention at the Australian Open 2026.

Earlier in the day, Olympian Balaji's run in the men's doubles ended after he and Austrian partner Neil Oberleitner went down 7-5, 6-1 to fourth seeds Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador and Croatia's Mate Pavic in the second round.

Balaji and Oberleitner had entered the main draw as late alternates and produced a notable first-round upset, beating former Grand Slam champions Pierre-Hugues Herbert of France and Australia's Jordan Thompson.

Saturday's defeat marked Balaji's fourth consecutive second-round exit in the men's doubles at the Australian Open. He is yet to progress beyond this stage at the season-opening Grand Slam.

On Thursday, Bhambri and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the USA bowed out in the opening round of the mixed doubles, losing to sixth seeds Zhang Shuai of the People's Republic of China and Germany's Tim Putz in straight sets.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

P
Priya S
Tough luck for Balaji. He and his partner did well to even get into the main draw and pull off that first-round upset. The fourth seeds are just a different level. Hopefully he breaks this second-round jinx at Melbourne next year.
R
Rohit P
Yuki Bhambri is such an inspiration. From his injury struggles to now being our top-ranked doubles player and reaching 3rd round... what a journey! His US Open semi-final run last year was no fluke. All the best, champ!
S
Sarah B
The extreme heat policy interruption must have been a big factor. It can break your rhythm or help you regroup. Seems like Yuki's pair used it wisely. Smart tennis.
K
Karthik V
A bit disappointed with the overall performance if I'm honest. Only one Indian left in the draw? We need more depth in doubles. Where are the next players? The focus seems to be only on a couple of individuals.
M
Meera T
Waking up to this news with my chai! 🫖 Mixed feelings of course - joy for Yuki, sadness for Balaji. But both fought hard. That's what matters. Onwards and upwards!

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