Bhambri Advances in Auckland, Balaji Falls Short in Adelaide

In a mixed day for Indian tennis, Yuki Bhambri and French partner Albano Olivetti reached the Auckland ASB Classic quarterfinals, while N Sriram Balaji and Miguel Reyes-Varela were ousted in the Adelaide International pre-quarterfinals. Bhambri opted out of India's Davis Cup squad, where Balaji will compete.

In a day of mixed fortunes for Indian tennis players on the ATP Tour, Yuki Bhambri, alongside his French partner Albano Olivetti, secured a place in the quarterfinals of the ASB Classic held in Auckland.

They achieved this by defeating the duo of Sander Arends and Luke Johnson with a 6-4, 6-4 victory, wrapping up the match in 71 minutes. Next up for Bhambri and Olivetti is a clash against the winners of the Julian Cash/Llyod Glasspool versus Ajeet Rai/Kiranpal Pannu match.

Meanwhile, N Sriram Balaji, paired with Mexican Miguel Reyes-Varela, suffered a defeat at the hands of fourth seeds Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten after an intense battle, which they lost 6-3, 3-6, 13-11 over one hour and 23 minutes. On the horizon for Balaji is the Davis Cup tie against Togo, where he will most likely team up with Rithvik Choudary Bollipalli in the doubles. Notably, Yuki Bhambri chose not to be part of the squad despite being India's second-highest ranked player at world number 48.

(With inputs from agencies.)