Quick win for Venus, Bhambri at US Open

Michael Venus and Yuki Bhambri made a dominant start to their US Open campaign, cruising past Americans Marcos Giron and Learner Tien 6-0 6-3 in the opening round.

The 14th seeds needed just one hour to wrap up the victory, never facing a break point and controlling the match from the outset. 

Originally scheduled for Court 17, the clash was bumped up to the Grandstand, where a partisan crowd turned out to support the Americans.

Venus set the tone with a confident opening hold before the pressure quickly told on Giron, who was broken in the next game. Tien dropped serve soon after, and by the time Giron was broken again, the set was over in barely 20 minutes. 

The opener ended with Tien netting a volley on set point, leaving the Americans without a game on the board.

The second set brought some brief relief for the home pair. Giron dug out a service hold in the second game to spark smiles from both players and loud cheers from the crowd. But their reprieve was short-lived: Tien was broken two games later, giving Venus and Bhambri a lead they never relinquished.

The Americans saved a match point at 2-5 when Bhambri missed a return, but the Indian served it out comfortably in the next game, sealing victory with a crisp Venus volley at the net.

In his on-court interview, Venus said the pair had prepared for uncertainty against opponents more accustomed to singles.

“To play our first match of the tournament on this court in the evening, it’s pretty special, and we were excited to get out here,” Venus said.

“We knew it was going to be a tricky match. These guys are great ball strikers, and we watch them play singles all the time. We weren’t able to see any footage of them playing doubles together, so we weren’t really sure what to expect. But we’re really happy with our performance and looking forward to the next one.”

Venus and Bhambri will now face Colombia’s Gonzalo Escobar and Mexican Miguel Reyes-Varela for a place in the third round.