Indian tennis player Yuki Bhambri, alongside his French partner Albano Olivetti, displayed remarkable skill and teamwork to advance to the second round of the Wimbledon 2024 men’s doubles competition. They secured a straight-sets victory, 6-4, 6-4, against Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik and Alexander Shevchenko.
Bhambri and Olivetti commenced the match with solid serves, holding their own in the initial four games. The crucial breakthrough came in the fifth game when they managed to break their opponents’ serve. Although Bublik and Shevchenko responded with a service break, Bhambri and Olivetti regained their momentum and comfortably claimed the first set.
The second set was a closer contest, with both pairs fiercely competing. Bhambri and Olivetti’s pivotal moment came in the fifth game when they broke their opponents’ serve without losing a single point. Despite a resilient effort from the Kazakhstani duo to extend the match, Bhambri and Olivetti maintained their lead and sealed their victory. They now face the eighth-seeded German pair of Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz in the next round.
In a contrasting outcome, N Sriram Balaji, who is set to partner Rohan Bopanna in the Paris 2024 Olympics men’s doubles event, faced an early exit from Wimbledon. Teaming up with Great Britain’s Luke Johnson, Balaji was unable to progress past the first round. The pair was defeated by El Salvador’s Marcelo Arevalo and Croatia’s Mate Pavic, the reigning French Open doubles champions, with a scoreline of 6-4, 7-5.
Arevalo and Pavic showcased their dominance in the first set, converting one of the three break points to take it 6-4. The Indo-British pair put up a stronger resistance in the second set, battling hard, but ultimately succumbed to their higher-seeded opponents.
Looking ahead, Indian tennis star Rohan Bopanna and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden are set to compete in the third round of the men’s doubles on Friday. The second-seeded duo will face the German pair of Hendrik Jebens and Constantin Frantzen, aiming to advance further in the tournament.
The Wimbledon 2024 men’s doubles competition continues to offer thrilling matches and promising prospects for Indian players, with Bhambri and Olivetti’s progression being a highlight of the tournament so far.
