US Open: Balaji, Bhambri win opening doubles matches

Davis Cupper N Sriram Balaji and Yuki Bhambri entered the men's doubles second round at the US Open with their respective partners in New York on Wednesday.

Balaji and his Argentine partner Guido Andreozzi rallied after losing the first set to beat New Zealand's Marcus Daniell and Mexico's Miguel Reyes-Varela 5-7, 6-1, 7-6(12-6) in two hours and 36 minutes.

Balaji had impressed at the French Open where he and Reyes-Varela stretched Bopanna and Matthew Ebden on red clay.

A good run at the US Open before the Davis Cup tie against Sweden will be ideal preparation for Balaji, who will enter the rubber as the country's main doubles player.

Bhambri, who has opted out of the tie, and his French partner Albano Olivetti also advanced with a 6-3, 6-4 win over local wildcards Ryan Seggerman and Patrik Trhac.

They will now take on the American-Dutch combination of Austin Krajicek and Jean-Julien Rojer in the second round.

Second seeds Bopanna and Ebden open their campaign on Thursday.