Yuki Bhambri clinched his maiden title on the ATP Tour in men’s doubles at the Mallorca Open in Spain on Saturday.
Bhambri and his South African partner Lloyd Harris defeated the Dutch-Austrian pair of Robin Haase and Philipp Oswald 6-3, 6-4 in 65 minutes in the final of the ATP250 event.
“First ATP title, definitely a dream. When you grow up, you dream about competing at the big events. Since I made the switch to doubles last year, it’s been a tough journey but very rewarding. I’m glad that all the hard work that I’ve been putting in over the last year and a half is finally paying rich dividends,” said Bhambri after the triumph.
The 30-year-old, a former World No. 83 in singles, resurrected his injury-hit career by shifting to doubles and playing regularly with compatriot Saketh Myneni in the last year and a half. The duo has since won seven titles on the second-tier Challenger Tour with one of them coming in Mallorca in last August.
Both Bhambri and Myneni are supported by the ‘Doubles Dream of India’ program launched earlier this year which provides financial assistance to Indian men in the ATP Top 200. “Of course, without the help of the doubles program, where we’re having the physio and the coaches travel with us almost every other week, it wouldn’t have been possible, “ Bhambri said.
With Myneni deciding to take a week off before Wimbledon, Bhambri had to look for a different partner. “(It was) a lot of fun to play with Lloyd after a very last-minute pairing. He’s been on fire all this whole week with his singles as well. A great friend and a great partner,” said Bhambri.
The 26-year-old Harris lost to eventual champion Christopher Eubanks in the singles semifinal despite having five match points. However, with Bhambri, he too picked up his maiden ATP title.
Bhambri, who is ranked 75, moved up to career-best 58 in the live ATP Doubles Rankings.
The Bhambri-Myneni pair is sixth on the list of alternates at this year’s Wimbledon, which begins on Monday.
Comments
SHARE