Brawo Open: Sriram Balaji and Gonzalo Escobar advance to the finals of men’s doubles
N Sriram Balaji and his partner Gonzalo Escobar of Ecuador have advanced to the men’s doubles finals at the Brawo Open Challenger in Braunschweig, Germany. They continued their exceptional run at the clay-based court tournament and are now just one step away from glory.
The top-seeded pair of Balaji-Escobar faced the fourth-seeded duo of Ukrainian Denys Molchanov and Dutch Matwé Middelkoop in the semi-finals on Friday, July 12. The Indo-Ecuadorian pair clinched an easy 6-3 win in the first set, followed by a 7-6(3) win in the second.
It was a dominating win by the duo of Balaji and Escobar, as they secured seven aces while conceding none. They will now take on the second-seeded Dutch pair of Sander Arends and Robin Haase in the finals.
Anders and Haase are also coming off a comprehensive straight set 6-4, 6-4 victory over Argentina’s Guido Andreozzi and Mexican Miguel Ángel Reyes-Varela in the semis.
The Indo-Ecuadorian duo will, therefore, face a difficult task, but they will look to remain composed and keep up their momentum.
Sriram Balaji and Gonzalo Escobar’s run to the final of the Brawo Open
Sriram Balaji and Gonzalo Escobar have had a dominating run to the finals of the Brawo Open. They started their campaign with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Boris Arias and Federico Zeballos in the Round of 16.
In the quarter-finals, the pair of Balaji-Escobar again came out on top with another comprehensive win. They beat the duo of Marcelo Demoliner and Guillermo Durán 6-4, 6-2. They then defeated Denys Molchanov and Matwé Middelkoop to book their tickets for the finals.
A win in the finals of the Brawo Open would be a huge boost for Sriram Balaji, who will be competing at the upcoming Paris Olympics in the men’s doubles event alongside veteran Rohan Bopanna. It’ll also be played at the clay-based courts of Stade Roland Garros, and thus, a win in the finals would provide Balaji with invaluable momentum heading into the Paris Olympics.