Chandrasekar-Prashanth pair enters 2nd round

New York: Indianmen’s doubles pair of Anirudh Chandrasekar and Vijay Prashanth advanced to the second round of the US Open after upsetting eighth-seeded local favourites Christian Harrison and Evan King in three sets here.

Chandrasekar and Prashanth won 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in one hour 42 minutes, riding on a far superior first and second serves.

Chandrasekar and Prashanth will take on Australia’s John-Patrick Smith and Brazil’s Fernando Romboli in the second round.

Another Indian pair of Rithvik Bollipalli and N. Balaji, however, lost their opening-round match here.

Fellow Indians, Rithvik Bollipalli and N. Balaji fought hard but fell short against Bart Stevens and Vasil Kirkov, bowing out 6-3, 6-7(10), 4-6.

Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic kept his quest for a historic 25th Grand Slam title alive on Friday, overcoming a brief lower back issue to defeat unseeded Briton Cameron Norrie 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-3 and book his place in the fourth round of the U.S. Open. Under the lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the 38-year-old showcased his trademark resilience to become the oldest man to reach the last 16 at Flushing Meadows since Jimmy Connors achieved the same feat in 1991.

Already the all-time leader in Grand Slam titles (24) and match wins (395), Djokovic added another milestone to his storied career by surpassing Roger Federer for the most hardcourt wins at the majors, claiming his 192nd victory. The four-time U.S. Open champion also extended his perfect record against Norrie to 7-0.(PTI)