India’s campaign at the Bengaluru Open ended on Friday night after N Sriram Balaji and his Austrian partner Neil Oberleitner bowed out after a tight doubles semifinal defeat at the SM Krishna Tennis Stadium in Bengaluru.
Balaji and Oberleitner, top seeds at the ATP Challenger 125 event, were edged out 7(7)-6(4), 7(7)-6(3) by the French pairing of Arthur Reymond and Luca Sanchez.
The third-seeded French duo made a brisk start, breaking serve in the opening game before Balaji and Oberleitner settled into the contest.
The Indo-Austrian pair responded well, growing in confidence as the set progressed and breaking back in the eighth game with sharp, well-directed returns.
With neither side able to gain a decisive upper hand, the opener was pushed into a tie-break, where Reymond and Sanchez proved more composed to take the lead.
The second set followed a similar script, featuring tight service games and aggressive serve-and-volley play from both teams.
Once again, it went down to a tie-break, and Reymond and Sanchez delivered under pressure to close out the match and book their place in the final.
India’s singles challenge at the Bengaluru Open, meanwhile, ended on Thursday with 18-year-old wildcard Manas Dhamne and Dhakshineswar Suresh, 25, losing their quarter-final clashes. India’s No. 1 singles player Sumit Nagal was ousted in the second round.
Earlier in the day, top seed Pedro Martinez advanced to the singles final with a 7(7)-6(4), 6-1 victory over France’s Martin Martineau.
Martinez will face sixth seed Timofey Skatov of Kazakhstan in the final. Skatov defeated second seed Harold Mayot of France 6-4, 6-3 in the other semifinal.
In the doubles draw, Reymond and Sanchez will take on fourth seeds Nicolas Barrientos of Colombia and Benjamin Kittay of the USA, who defeated the Dutch pair of Max Houkes and Niels Visker 7-6(6), 6-3, in the second semifinal.
The Bengaluru Open tournament will conclude on Saturday with both singles and doubles finals scheduled on the same day.
Results (semifinals): Men’s singles: Pedro Martinez (ESP) beat Martin Martineau (FRA) 7(7)-6(4), 6-1; Timofey Skatov (KAZ) beat Harold Mayot (FRA) 6-4, 6-3. Doubles: Arthur Reymond/Luca Sanchez (FRA) beat N Sriram Balaji (IND)/Neil Oberleitner (AUT) 7(7)-6(4), 7(7)-6(3); Nicolas Barrientos (COL)/Benjamin Kittay (USA) beat Max Houkes/Niels Visker (NED) 7(8)-6(6), 6-3.
