Tennis
Australian Open: Jeevan/Balaji stun fifth seeds in first round on Grand Slam debut
Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Sriram Bajali caused a major upset in the first round of the Australian Open by defeating the fifth seeds Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek.
N Sriram Balaji and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan
The Indian tennis men's doubles pair of Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Sriram Bajali, on Saturday, caused a major upset in the first round of the Australian Open by defeating the fifth seeds Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek.
Having entered the main draw as last-minute alternates, the Indian pair stunned Dodig and Krajicek when they won won the first set 7-6.
The American-Croatian pair stormed back into the contest by pocketing the second set 6-2, but Jeevan and Balaji broke first in the decider to register a famous, famous win.
The final scoreline read 7-6 (8-6), 2-6, 6-4 in the favour of the Indians, who were making their Grand Slam debut.
They will now face the French pair of Jeremy Chady and Fabrice Martin in the second round.
Jeevan and Balaji came into the Australian Open on the back of winning the Tata Open Maharashtra - an ATP 250 event, earlier in the month.
