After Wimbledon high, Vishnubalaji doubles duo eyes more Grand Slams

BENGALURU: It was at the Bengaluru Open last year that Vishnu Vardhan and N Sriram Balaji embarked on the quest to make it to Wimbledon.

They did so in July and showed they had the potential to be among the best doubles pairs in the world.

“Last year, we won a few Challengers and it came down to a decision. With our rankings, either we could play Futures in singles or have a go in doubles where we could get into higher tournaments.

We wanted to try it before it got too late,” said Balaji, ranked 109.

Here, the Indian pair will be looking to set the tone in their first match against Sumit Nagal and Canada’s Brayden Schnur. With Bengaluru and Pune being their assignments before the Australian Open cutoff date of Dec 2, the duo is eying full points (125 points) on offer this week.

Since their Grand Slam debut in July, the duo has made one final, semi-final and three quarter-final appearances. Keyed in to take the partnership forward, the two have set sight on making at least three Grand Slams next year. “The year has been a great learning curve. Playing in ATP Tour events we have learnt a lot and have grown as players. We broke into top 100,” Vishnu, ranked 125, said.

EAST BENGAL UPBEAT

KOLKATA: On a high after two successive away wins, East Bengal will look to begin their home campaign on a rousing note when they face Chennai City in a top-ofthe-table