Indian duo Yuki Bhambri and Divij Sharan swiftly storms into second round of #FrenchOpen

Paris, May 31: Indian tennis duo of Yuki Bhambri and Divij Sharan on Wednesday swiftly stormed into the second round of Men's doubles of French Open after defeating India’s Purav Raja and France’s Fabrice Martin.

 

Yuki Bhambri and Divij Sharan overcame the Indo-French combination of Purav Raja and Fabrice Martin by 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 in a match that lasted for over 2 hours. The match saw only three breaks of serve, one in each set, Bhambri and Sharan prevailed, despite the high quality of serving by their opponents.

Meanwhile, in Men' Singles, former champion Novak Djokovic reached the third round yesterday by beating Spanish qualifier Jaume Munar in straight sets 7-6 6-4 6-4. The Serbian 12-time Grand Slam champion is seeded 20 this year after struggling to rediscover his best form after returning from a right elbow injury.

In women's singles, top seed and world number one Simona Halep of Romania advanced to the second round after beating American Alison Riske 2-6, 6-1, 6-1. Halep was runner-up in Paris in 2014 and 2017.

 

Eighth seed Petra Kvitova eased into the third round with a 6-0, 6-4 victory over Spain's Lara Arruabarrena on Court One. Ukrainian fourth seed Elina Svitolina reached the last 32 for the fourth straight year by brushing aside Viktoria Kuzmova in straight sets.

On Tuesday, India's Rohan Bopanna and his French partner Edourd Roger-Vasselin had already advanced to the second round after registering a comprehensive win over American team of Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe. However, Yuki Bhambri lost the first match respectively by 4-6, 4-6, 1-6 to Belgium's Ruben Bemelmans. With Yuki's defeat, India's challenge in the men's singles came to an unfortunate end.