Australian Open: Mahesh Bhupathi, Yuki Bhambri win doubles openers, Divij Sharan ousted
It was a mixed bag for Indians on Day 3 in the men's doubles of the Australian Open.
Yuki Bhambri and his New Zealand partner Michael Venus recorded a straight-set win in their Grand Slam debut but Divij Sharan's Australian Open campaign ended in the first round, here on Wednesday.
The 21-year-old Yuki and Venus defeated Spaniards Roberto Bautista Agut and Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6-2 7-5 in their opening round contest, which lasted one hour and 11 minutes. The duo, who won wild card play-off tournament to enter the first Major of the season, face 10th seeds Horea Tecau and Jean-Julien Roger in the second round.
Also advancing to the second round was veteran Indian Mahesh Bhupathi and his American partner Rajeev Ram. They came from behind to beat Santiago Giraldo from Columbia and Joao Sousa from Portugal 4-6 6-3 6-4 in two hours and two minutes. They will now meet the second-seeded pair of Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares.
Divij's defeat denied India an all-win day. Divij and his Taipei partner Yen-Husn Lu lost 2-6 4-6 to Johan Brunstrom from Sweden and Frederik Nielsen from Denmark.