New York, September 05 (H.S.): India’s Sriram Balaji and his American partner Evan King staged a remarkable comeback to advance to the second round of the 2026 US Open men’s doubles competition. The duo defeated Roland Garros quarter-finalists Sander Arends and David Pel 3-6, 7-6(7), 7-6(10) in a thrilling first-round encounter.

Balaji and King saved a total of six match points during the contest. After losing the opening set, the pair faced further pressure in the second-set tiebreak, where they saved two match points before winning the tiebreak and forcing the match into a deciding set.

The Indian-American combination again found themselves in a difficult position in the deciding set. Trailing 5-6, they saved three match points to force another tiebreak. They held their nerve in the decisive tiebreak, winning it 12-10 to complete an impressive comeback.

Balaji and King will next face Hugo Nys and Edouard Roger-Vasselin in the second round. Nys and Roger-Vasselin booked their place in the next round by defeating Jakub Paul and Matej Vocel 7-6(4), 7-5 in their opening-round match.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar