Marrakech (Morocco): India's Yuki Bhambri and his French partner Albano Olivetti crashed out in the semifinals of the ATP Marrakech Open here after a hard-fought duel against second seeds Lucas Miedler and Alexander Erler of Austria. The unseeded Indo-French pair lost 5-7 6-3 7-10 in a gruelling tie in the last-four stage of the ATP 250 event on Friday.
Bhambri and Olivetti had earlier knocked out third seeds Nicholas Barrientos and Rafael Matos to breeze into the men's doubles semifinals. It was a closely contested affair between the two pairs in the semifinals. After Miedler and Erler took the opening set, Bhambri and Olivetti made a remarkable comeback to draw level.
There was no let up in the decider as the contest went down to the wire, where Miedler and Erler sealed the contest in the super tiebreaker. Bhambri has teamed up with Olivetti for the first time this season, having played with Dutchman Robin Haase in most of the tournaments. The Indian had paired with Michael Venus from New Zealand at the Miami Masters where they made a first-round exit.