Melbourne, Jan 21 (IANS) India’s Yuki Bhambri and his Swedish partner Andre Garansson progressed to the second round of the Australian Open 2026 men’s doubles event with a win over local wild cards James Duckworth and Cruz Hewitt, the son of former World No. 1 and multiple Grand Slam winner Lleyton Hewitt, in Melbourne on Wednesday.

The 10th-seeded Indo-Swedish pair registered a 6-3, 6-4 victory in just 57 minutes. In the second round, Bhambri and Goransson will face either Mexico’s Santiago Gonzalez and the Netherlands’ David Pel or the Brazilian pairing of Marcelo Melo and Fernando Romboli.

Bhambri and Goransson dominated proceedings from the start, delivering a near-perfect serving performance. In the opening set, they held four of their five service games to love, dropping just a single point in the ninth game. A break in the eighth game against Duckworth and Hewitt was all they needed to clinch the set.

The momentum carried into the second set, where Bhambri and Göransson once again won four of their five service games to love. A decisive break in the seventh game proved enough to wrap up the contest.

Bhambri’s best performance at the Australian Open came in 2014, when he reached the third round alongside New Zealand’s Michael Venus. His best showing at a Grand Slam came last year, when the pair made a run to the semi-finals at the US Open.

Bhambri will partner with the 2018 Wimbledon champion, Nicole Melichar-Martinez of America, in the mixed doubles event. They will be up against the sixth-seeded Zhang Shuai of China and Germany’s Tim Putz in the opening round on Thursday.

Earlier, another Indian, Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha, in the men’s doubles draw, exited in the first round. Poonacha and his Thai partner Pruchya Isaro lost 7-6(3), 7-5 to Spain’s Pedro Martínez and Jaume Munar on Tuesday.

–IANS

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