Geneva, May 21 (IANS) India’s Yuki Bhambri and his American partner Robert Galloway suffered an early exit at the Geneva Open after losing their opening-round encounter against unseeded Germans, Jakob Schnaitter and Mark Wallner, on Wednesday.

The second-seeded Indo-American duo went down 6-7(3), 4-6 in a closely-contested Round of 16 match at the ATP 250 clay-court tournament, which serves as a final stop before the French Open.

The loss marks another disappointing chapter in Bhambri’s European clay-court campaign. Despite showing flashes of form with a runner-up finish at the Bordeaux Challenger last week, Bhambri and Galloway were unable to sustain their momentum in Geneva.

The pair split €3,240 in prize money, but were denied ATP ranking points due to the early-round defeat.

The first set proved to be a tight contest, with neither side able to break serve. But Schnaitter and Wallner held their nerve in the tiebreak, clinching it 7-3 to take the lead. The German duo maintained their composure in the second set, breaking once and serving efficiently to close out the match in straight sets.

For Bhambri, the Geneva Open was another opportunity to gain rhythm ahead of the Roland Garros qualifiers and other clay events. However, the 31-year-old has struggled to find consistency on the red dirt this season. Prior to Bordeaux, Bhambri faced first-round exits in Monte Carlo (partnering Alexei Popyrin), the ATP 500 event in Munich, the Madrid Masters, and the Rome Masters.

With the French Open looming, Bhambri will be hoping to regroup and put together a stronger showing. Despite recent setbacks, his run in Bordeaux hinted at potential, and the seasoned doubles player will be eager to convert that into more consistent results on tour.

The Geneva Open, offering a total prize purse of €596,035, continues to feature strong doubles and singles line-ups as players fine-tune their game for the challenges ahead in Paris.

–IANS

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