Yuki Bhambri and Saketh Myneni kept Indian challenge alive at the French Open as they sailed into the second round of men's doubles on Wednesday.
The in-form Indian pair put on a clinical display to defeat French wildcards Arthur Rinderknech and Enzo Couacaud 6-3, 6-2 in just 64 minutes.
This was the first Grand Slam main draw victory, in singles or doubles, for the 35-year-old Myneni.
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Former top-100 singles player Bhambri joined forces with Myneni in 2021, after returning from a knee procedure and long injury layoff. Since then, the duo has won seven Challenger titles and broken into the top-100. While the 30-year-old Bhambri is ranked 75, Myneni is a spot below at 76.
However, the other Indians in the fray, doubles World No 9 Rohan Bopanna and the Indian pair of Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Sriram Balaji suffered first round exits.
Bopanna, who broke into top-10 last week after seven years, and Australian partner Matthew Ebden have won two titles this year and were seeded sixth at the event. But they struggled to get going against Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul.
Bopanna-Ebden saved four match points on their serve in the second set but went down 5-7, 6-7 (5) against the gritty Frenchmen.
Earlier in the day, Balaji-Nedunchezhiyan lost 3-6, 4-6 to Ilya Ivashka and Australia's Alexei Popyrin.
What next for Yuki Bhambri and Saketh Myneni?
Bhambri-Myneni will take on ninth seeds Santiago Gonzalez of Chile and Edouard Roger-Vasselin in the second round of French Open on Friday.
Where can you watch the French Open match featuring Yuki Bhambri and Saketh Myneni?
French Open 2023 is being telecast Live on Sony Sports Ten 5, Sony Sports Ten 2 (English), Sony Sports Ten 3 (Hindi) & Sony Sports Ten 4 (Tamil & Telugu) channels from 28th May 2023. You can also stream the action on SonyLIV.
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