Munich, April 17 (IANS): Yuki Bhambri and his French partner Albano Olivetti pulled off a major upset as they knocked out reigning French Open finalists Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen 4-6, 7-6, 10-6 in the opening round of the BMW Open, here on Wednesday.
After losing the first set, the Indo-French pair bounced back in the next two sets and defeated Gille and Vliegen, who won the Monte-Carlo Masters last week.
Bhambri-Olivetti reached the semifinals of the Marrakech Open, where they lost to second-seeded Lucas Miedler and Alexander Erler of Austria. Currently ranked 59 in the ATP rankings. Bhambhri quit men’s singles in January to focus on doubles.
Meanwhile, Rutuja Bhosale advanced to the pre-quarterfinals of the Chinese women's singles W50 Shenzhen, a hard-court event. Rutuja partnering with YeXin Ma of China also reached the quarterfinals of the event.
Rutuja will next face Liu Fangzhou of China, whereas, in women’s doubles, Rutuja and Ye Xin Ma will take on Prarthana Thombare and Arianne Hartono.