U.S. Open | Yuki Bhambri loses to Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the first round
Yuki Bhambri once again failed to clear the first round hurdle of a Grand Slam event losing to Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert in straight sets at the US Open on Tuesday night. The Indian ace lost 3-6, 6-7 (3-7), 5-7 to Herbert in a match that lasted nearly two and half hours.
The No.1 Indian singles player started the year with Tata Open Maharashtra where he got an entry into the main draw, defeated compatriot Arjun Kadhe in the opening round but lost to Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the second round. At the Australian open too, he entered the main draw but failed to get through in the first round against Marcos Baghdatis. Similarly, Yuki entered at big championships like the French Open and Wimbledon but couldn't get through the first round itself.
The world No 96 Indian lost 3-6, 6-7 (3-7), 5-7 to Herbert in straight sets at the US Open on Tuesday night. India’s top-ranked singles player did put up a fight in the second and third sets but that wasn’t enough to beat the world No 75, who had earlier got better of him during the Maharashtra Open in Pune in January this year.
There wasn’t much to choose statistically between the two players, even though Herbert converted a couple of more breakpoints. However what made the difference was the Frenchman being able to unleash winners at various key moments. In all, he hit 13 winners in three sets while Bhambri failed to hit any.