US Open 2026: Sriram Balaji Opens Up On Thrilling Win, New York Crowd

N Sriram Balaji and Evan King reached the second round of the US Open 2026 following a nervy win against Sander Arends and David Pel. The Indian-American duo saved as many as six match points before defeating the Dutch duo 3-6, 7-6(7), 7-6(10) in a match that lasted two hours and 56 minutes. After losing the first set, Balaji and King took the second set to a tie-break, which they won.

Balaji and King saved three match points in the third set. Following the win, Balaji said that he was "glad" that they pulled off the win and avenged last year's defeat.

"I’m really glad that we pulled this off. I was here last year, and I had match points but lost in the first round, so this feels like I’m getting revenge for that. I’m really happy about it. I didn’t even think about the match points. We were just playing to our plan, and we stuck to it. In the third set, I was serving at 15-40, and I think I just focused on my first serve. I was thinking that I needed to get my first serve in, and then the rest would be fine. So, thankfully, it worked," Balaji told JioStar.

Balaji was elated by the support from the Indian fans, who have been cheering for him from the stands. “It’s the vibes and the energy here. It gets me going on the court as well. I have all my coaches, including two tennis coaches and two physios, travelling with me for the first time. We’ve got a lot of Indians here, and they’ve been outside pushing me and giving me energy. So, it’s been great," Balaji added.

Speaking about his partnership with King, Balaji revealed that they complement each other well. “I think we complement each other well. The lefty-righty combination also works, and we’ve got good serves. If, in one of the games, we click with our returns, I think we can be quite dangerous," he said.

Rishav Narang is an experienced writer with nine years of experience in sports journalism. He extensively writes on cricket and covers live matches, b... View More