Australian Open: Sriram Balaji- Reyes Varela exit in the second round

Sriram Balaji and Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela, an Indo-Mexican pairing, were beaten in the second round of the 2025 Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year, at Melbourne Park on Saturday.

After this loss, the Indian campaign has effectively ended in the men's doubles category as Balaji was the last Indian player standing in the second round of the men's doubles competition.

A quality serving display

Balaji-Varela faced a tight three-set (6-7(1), 6-4, 3-6) defeat against the Portuguese pairing of Nuno Borges and Francisco Cabral, who showcased quality in their first serve (85% first serve points won).

The match had a quality start as both the pairings showcased exceptional serving and the opening set went into a tiebreaker as no one dropped their serves.

However, the tiebreaker did not play out per plan for Balaji and Miguel, as they managed only one point in that and conceded the tiebreaker (1-7) and the opening set, 6-7.

The Indo-Mexican pairing made a solid comeback in the second set, winning the breakpoint in the very first game of the set. They grabbed on that early breakthrough and won the set without conceding any break.

With this, the match went into the deciding set but the serve quality hadn't dropped much and there was again just one break in the set but this time it was in favour of the Portuguese pair.

In the decider, Balaji and Reyes-Varela were unable to force the issue and hence dropped the set, 3-6, ending their campaign in the tournament.

What's next

Indian campaign might have ended in the men's doubles but there is still a ray of hope for the Indian fans as star player Rohan Bopanna and his Chinese Partner Shuai Zhang are still left in mixed doubles.

Bopanna, the defending men's doubles champion, will have his eyes set on the back-to-back Australian Open title. They will be in the action for their second-round clash tomorrow.