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.
Bhambri's best performance of the season came in the ATP 500 Dubai, whereas qualifiers the Indian and Haase reached the semifinals, earning crucial 225 ranking points. Ranked 62, the 31-year-old Bhambri is India's second highest-ranked player behind world number one Rohan Bopanna.
It will be interesting to see if Bopanna chooses Bhambri as his partner for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Bopanna being a top-10 player will have the choice of selecting his partner.
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