Australian Open: N Sriram Balaji-Victor Cornea's journey ends in second round

At the Australian Open, India's N Sriram Balaji, alongside his Romanian partner Victor Vlad Cornea, faced defeat in their men's doubles second-round match. The pair were outplayed by Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador and Mate Pavic of Croatia at the Rod Laver Arena, concluding their campaign with a score of 3-6, 3-6 against the 10th-seeded duo.

Earlier in the tournament, Balaji and Cornea had secured a first-round victory over the Italian team of Matteo Arnaldi and Andrea Pellegrino with a convincing 6-3, 6-4 win. Entering the competition as alternate entrants, the Indo-Romanian pair showcased their skills, with Balaji currently holding the 79th position in the ATP doubles rankings and Cornea ranked 69th.

This appearance marked Balaji's second consecutive venture into the second round of the Australian Open, following his achievement last year with Indian player Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan. Additionally, this tournament represents the third time Balaji has advanced to the second round of a Grand Slam event, having previously reached this stage at Wimbledon in 2018 alongside Vishnu Vardhan.

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(With PTI inputs)