NSriram Balaji and American partner Evan King survived a tense opening-round battle at the US Open 2026, saving six match points before advancing to the second round of the men’s doubles competition.
For Balaji, the victory carried an added sense of redemption after he had match points but still lost his opening-round contest at last year’s US Open. The Indian doubles specialist said sticking to their game plan, particularly under pressure in the deciding set, helped the pair escape another tight finish.
“I’m really glad that we pulled this off. I was here last year, and I had match points but lost in the first round, so this feels like I’m getting revenge for that. I’m really happy about it,” Balaji said in an interview shared by JioStar.
N Sriram Balaji draws energy from New York crowd
The Indian also spoke about the atmosphere in New York and the support he has received from the Indian contingent at the tournament.
“It’s the vibes and the energy here. It gets me going on the court as well. I have all my coaches, including two tennis coaches and two physios, travelling with me for the first time,” he said.
“We’ve got a lot of Indians here, and they’ve been outside pushing me and giving me energy. So, it’s been great.”
Balaji revealed that he deliberately kept his focus narrow during the crucial match points, refusing to dwell on the possibility of letting the opportunity slip away.
“I didn’t even think about the match points. We were just playing to our plan, and we stuck to it. In the third set, I was serving at 15-40, and I think I just focused on my first serve. I was thinking that I needed to get my first serve in, and then the rest would be fine. So, thankfully, it worked.”
N Sriram Balaji and King finding the right combination
The partnership with King has also begun to show promise, with Balaji pointing to their contrasting lefty-righty combination and quality serving as key strengths.
“I think we complement each other well. The lefty-righty combination also works, and we’ve got good serves. If, in one of the games, we click with our returns, I think we can be quite dangerous,” Balaji said.
The duo now face Édouard Roger-Vasselin and Hugo Nys in the second round of the US Open men’s doubles competition.
Balaji and King will take on Roger-Vasselin and Nys today, with the match scheduled from 10 PM onwards. The contest will be broadcast live on Star Sports Network and streamed on JioHotstar.