India's N Sriram Balaji and his Romanian partner Victor Vlad Cornea entered the second round of the men's doubles at the Australian Open here on Friday. They defeated the Italian duo of Matteo Arnaldi and Andrea Pellegrino 6-3, 6-4 in the first round. In the next round, the Indo-Romanian pair will take on 10th seeds Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador and Mate Pavic of Croatia. 'What A Rollercoaster' Sumit Nagal Pens Down Emotional Message After Australian Open 2024 Exit, Thanks Sponsors and Coaches For Support (See Post).

The Balaji-Cornea team came in as an alternate pair into the competition. While the Indian is ranked 79th in ATP doubles ranking, the Romanian is ranked 69th. It is only the second time that Balaji has made it to the second round of the Australian Open, having done so last year with fellow Indian Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan.

Overall, this is the third time Balaji has entered the second round of a Grand Slam. He had progressed to the second round of the Wimbledon 2018 with fellow Indian Vishnu Vardhan.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)