The pair of Yuki Bhambri and Albano Olivetti bowed out of the first round of the ongoing Australia Open 2025 as they lost to the Australian duo Tristan Schoolkate and Adam Walton in the first round on Wednesday. Bhambri, a silver medal winner in singles at the 2010 Youth Olympics, and Olivetti went down in straight sets, losing 6-2, 7(7)-6(3) against the Australian wildcards at Melbourne Park. Bhambri, 32, and Olivetti, 33, were broken in the fourth game on the Indian’s serve as the Australian pair took a 3-1 lead.

The Indo-French duo had an opportunity to bounce back in the very next game but Schoolkate and Walton saved a break point before extending their lead to 4-1.

The Aussie duo pressed their advantage and broke Bhambri once again to close the first set eight games in.

The second set saw Bhambri and Olivetti squander two break points in the opening game, which would eventually prove detrimental to their cause.

Both Bhambri and Olivetti as well as Schoolkate and Walton would hold their serves for the remainder of the second set to force a tie-breaker, which the Australians won 7-3 to secure their victory.

After Rohan Bopanna exited the men’s doubles event on Tuesday and Bhambri’s first-round ouster on Wednesday, India’s hopes in the draw now rest on N Sriram Balaji and Rithvik Bollipalli.

Balaji will team up with Mexico’s Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela while Bollipalli is partnering with USA’s Ryan Seggerman in the first Grand Slam of the year. Both pairs are scheduled to play on Thursday.

Rohan Bopanna and Shuai Zhang of the People’s Republic of China, a two-time Grand Slam champion and former World No. 2, will also be seen in action in mixed doubles.

In singles, Sumit Nagal was eliminated in the first round by Czechia’s Tomas Machac.

India’s Yuki Bhambri and his French partner Albano Olivetti frittered away a solid start to make a semifinal exit from the ASB Classic in Auckland on Friday. The unseeded Indo-French combine had the momentum but the top seeded pair of Nikola Mektic and Michael Venus bounced back strongly to win 3-6 6-1 5-10 in the last-four pairs match of the ATP 250 event. Bhambri and Olivetti took 90 points each and spilt USD 10150 for their effort in the hard court tournament. Before teaming up with Olivetti, India No. 2 Bhambri gained valuable experience on the Tour partnering with Venus, entering the Australian Open well-prepared.

In a mixed bag for India on the ATP Tour on Wednesday, Yuki Bhambri and his French partner Albano Olivetti advanced to quarterfinals of the ASB Classic in Auckland but N Sriram Balaji exited the Adelaide International with pre-quarterfinal defeat alongside Miguel Reyes-Varela. Bhambri and Olivetti edged past the pair of Sander Arends and Luke Johnson 6-4 6-4 in the round of 16, winning in 71 minutes. They will next take on the winners of the match between Julian Cash/Llyod Glasspool and Ajeet Rai/Kiranpal Pannu. Balaji and his Mexican partner made a tremendous start by taking the first set from Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten but eventually lost 6-3 3-6 13-11 to the fourth seeds in a gruelling contest that lasted one hour and 23 minutes.

Balaji will represent India in the upcoming Davis Cup tie against Togo, most likely with Rithvik Choudary Bollipalli, in New Delhi in the doubles rubber.

Bhambri,who is India’s second-highest ranked player at number 48, did not make himself available for selection.

India’s Yuki Bhambri and Albano Olivetti advanced to the men’s doubles third round of the US Open with a hard-fought win over 15th seeds Austin Krajicek and Jean-Julien Roger in New York. The Indo-French pair defeated the USA-Dutch team 4-6 6-3 7-5 in the second round that lasted two hours and five minutes on Friday. This is only the second time that Bhambri has reached the third round at a Grand Slam, having reached the same stage at the Australian Open back in 2014.

Second seeds Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden also moved to third round with a 6-2 6-4 win over Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena and Federico Coria from Argentina.

Bopanna also won in the mixed doubles with Indonesian partner Aldila Sutjiadi. Seeded eighth, they won 7-6 (7) 7-6 (5) against Germany’s Tim Puetz and Dutch player Demi Schuurs in the opening round.

However, another Indian in the fray, N Sriram Balaji and his Argentine partner Guido Andreozzi exited the US Open after losing to Michael Venus of New Zealand and Neal Skupski of Great Britain.

The Indo-Argentine pair lost 6-7 (4), 4-6 in the second-round match that featured just one break of serve in the second set.

In total, Venus and Skupski received seven break points, and converted one, while Balaji and Andreozzi failed to capitalise on their lone opportunity for a service break.

“The first step is to consistently play at this level. It’s starting from here. Now the next step is to get my ranking higher slowly,” Balaji told PTI, reflecting upon his campaign.

“Game wise I’m feeling confident and moving in the right direction. I also have to keep working on certain aspects of my game and keep getting better. This year the main difference was a coach/trainer travelling with me almost every other week, thanks to the doubles program,” he said.

India’s doubles players made a stupendous start at the US Open with Davis Cupper N Sriram Balaji and Yuki Bhambri progressing to the men’s doubles second round with their respective partners. Balaji, who has been doing well of late, and his Argentine partner Guido Andreozzi overcame a one-set deficit to beat New Zealand’s Marcus Daniell and Mexico’s Miguel Reyes-Varela 5-7 6-1 7-6 (12-6) in a close contest that lasted two hours and 36 minutes. Balaji had impressed at the French Open too where he and Reyes-Varela had stretched Bopanna and Matthew Ebden in a gruelling contest on red clay.

A good run at the US Open before the Davis Cup tie against Sweden will be ideal preparation for Balaji, who will enter the rubber as the country’s main doubles player.

Bhambri, who has opted out of the tie, and his French partner Albano Olivetti also advanced with a 6-3 6-4 win over local wildcards Ryan Seggerman and Patrik Trhac.

They will now take on the American-Dutch combination of Austin Krajicek and Jean-Julien Rojer in the second round.

Second seeds Bopanna and Ebden will open their campaign on Thursday.