US Open: Bhambri-Venus advance to pre-QF

India’s Yuki Bhambri and New Zealand’s Michael Venus sailed through to the US Open men's doubles pre-quarterfinal on Monday.

The 14th-seeded pair beat Colombia’s Gonzalo Escobar and Mexico’s Miguel Ángel Reyes-Varela 6-1, 7-5 in a little over an hour.

Bhambri and Venus took the opening game without breaking much sweat, finiding success in the second and sixth game to seal the first set 6-1.

In the second set, both pairs held their serve early on. Bhambri and Venus faced pressure in the sixth game but saved two break points to make it 3-all. They were tested again in the tenth game, saving two break points and two set points to take the score to 6-all. They broke in the eleventh game to win 7-5.

They will now meet fourth seed Krawietz K and Puetz T of Germany in the pre-quarterfinals.