Balaji and Reyes-Varela Bow Out of Australian Open Men’s Doubles

Melbourne: India’s N. Sriram Balaji and Mexico’s Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela were knocked out of the Australian Open men’s doubles after a hard-fought second-round loss to Portugal’s Nuno Borges and Francisco Cabral on Saturday. 

The closely contested match ended 6-7(7), 6-4, 3-6 after two hours and nine minutes of intense action at Melbourne Park.

The first set was a gripping contest, lasting 56 minutes. Neither pair managed to break serve, leading to a tiebreaker. Borges and Cabral kept their composure under pressure, edging out the Indo-Mexican duo to take the set.

In the second set, Balaji and Reyes-Varela started strong, breaking early for a 2-1 lead and maintaining their momentum to go up 5-4. They showcased powerful serves and precise winners to seal the set with an ace and a forehand winner, levelling the match.

The deciding set saw Borges and Cabral take the upper hand with a crucial break in the fourth game, giving them a 3-1 lead. Both pairs held serve until the ninth game, where the Portuguese duo secured another break with powerful serves and sharp forehand winners to close out the match. IANS

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