Melbourne, Jan 26 (IANS) India’s top-ranked men’s doubles tennis player Yuki Bhambri and his Swedish partner Andre Goransson crashed out of the Australian Open after losing to the Brazilian pair of Orlando Luz and Rafael Matos in the third round here on Monday.

Luz and Matos won the first set despite winning a lower number of points than Bhambri/Goransson by raising their game during crucial points in the set. The Brazilians edged Bhambri-Goransson in the short rallies (19-16), committing fewer errors (-3) to secure the 7-6 (9-7), 6-3 win.

Despite showing resilience in the opening-set tiebreak—saving three set points from 3–6 and even earning one at 7–6. Just when the momentum seemed to be swinging their way, they dropped the next three points to surrender the set.

Momentum slipped away in the second set after a crucial turning point. Serving at 3–2 with a break and holding two game points at 40–15, Goransson hit back-to-back double faults, handing the break back to the Brazilians. From there, Luz and Matos tightened their grip on the match, seeing out a straight-sets victory.

With Bhambri’s men’s doubles loss, India’s campaign at the season’s first ended, as he was the only Indian left in contention after Paris 2024 Olympian Sriram 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 on Saturday.

This was Bhambri’s third round of the men’s doubles at Melbourne Park for the first time since 2014, when he partnered 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 also partnered with the 2018 Wimbledon champion, Nicole Melichar-Martinez of America, in the mixed doubles event, but the duo lost to sixth-seeded Zhang Shuai of China and Germany’s Tim Putz in the opening round in straight sets.

–IANS

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