New Delhi: It was the DC Open in Washington in July 2025. For the first time since 2015, Yuki Bhambri and Michael Venus stood on the same side of the net. In 2014, they had reached the third round of the Australian Open and won the title in Chennai. Now, a decade later, the two good friends on tour were missing balls aplenty. The new pairing hadn’t quite found the footing on court as they had off it. Balls were going through the middle, they didn’t quite know who was going for what ball, both went after forehands and volleys. ‘Chaotic’ was the operative word.In seven matches — played across Washington, Toronto, Cincinnati and Winston Salem — they managed to win three and lost the remaining four by close margins in the Super Tiebreak (7-10, 10-12, 4-10, 11-13). Not the best of starts but not unheard of for a new pairing to struggle, especially in the middle of the season, despite plenty of experience under their belts.“It takes a few weeks to really gel. So, that’s always the downside of it. You are almost all the time in a way conceding some of those events. You hope that you can do well and any sort of win is a bonus. But to understand how we each other operate on the tennis court and how we go about things. What are the likes, the dislikes. What are the preferences and style of play. I think a lot of that just takes a little bit of time to understand. And that’s why we try and build a partnership. That’s why everyone tries to build a partnership from the beginning (of the year). Because if you are in sync, a lot of times it just makes it easier and makes it automatic,” Bhambri told TimesofIndia.com on the challenges of changing partners.
Yuki Bhambri and Michael Venus (SAI Media)
When the US Open got underway, the Indo-Kiwi pairing got the better of Marcos Giron-Learner Tien and Gonzalo Escobar-Miguel Reyes-Varela in straight sets, spending a total of two hours and 25 minutes on court. The big validation of their 14th seeded billing and credentials came after another straight set triumph over fourth seeds Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz, the 2024 US Open runners-up.“I think from the third round onward, you’re always playing a better team. I think a little bit of a turning point, for me, was being able to beat the German pair, who were finalists at the US Open last year. (I) lost to them twice (in Munich and Wimbledon last year). So to be able to do that, and quite convincingly as well, I felt sort of gave me a lot more confidence going into the rest of the matches,” he added.That third round win and foray into the quarter-final was another stepping stone. This was Bhambri’s first quarter-final appearance, having been to the third round at the French Open and Wimbledon already in the year.
Yuki Bhambri and Michael Venus
A tough three set win over 11th seeds Nikola Mektic – Venus’ former partner – and Rajeev Ram followed in the last-eight before succumbing to the British pairing of Neal Skupski and Joe Salisbury.The run to the semifinals is just what the Delhi boy, needed to alleviate any question marks he had about his abilities as a doubles professional, having quit singles two years ago. “I don’t think I would ever be satisfied unless I do the best I can. And I know that there’s more to come from me. And when I’ve been playing, I know from 40 in the world or 30 in the world, there are 30 other players who are better than me. So you want to try and be the best. Or at least I want to try and be the best that I can, the best version of me,” Bhambri continued.“And this was a bit of (an) uncharted territory and new ground for me. I had never made a semi-final before. There have been sporadic wins of beating some of the top players, but to do it never really happened at the topmost level.“So a lot of this is just new for me — being able to play the Masters series for the first time, winning Dubai [alongside Alexei Popyrin], being a semi-finalist of the US Open. So, you know, a lot of hard work that goes on. But really, the confidence really comes from when you’re able to execute that and turn those work that you’ve done on the practice court into a match situation.
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“That’s why I said, a lot of things sort of clicked. And it boosts your confidence in knowing that, ‘hey, all this work that you’re doing is worth it.’ And if you carry on, then sky’s the limit.”The attempt at reaching for the sky will continue with Michael Venus, a 2017 French Open champion from New Zealand. They have been friends for decade-and-half and discussions to team up on the tennis court had been going on for a while. But with entry into tournaments hinging on rankings and combined points, the timing didn’t quite materialise.“By the time I sort of broke into the doubles scene [2023], started really full-time concentrating and playing doubles, he was already quite established. So this was really the first opportunity we had of really playing together. We spoke quite briefly at the end of last year as well. Again, a lot of us, even though you want to play together, but almost all of our decisions are so much based on rankings because that’s what allows you to play a proper schedule.“Everyone wants to play the Grand Slams, everyone wants to play the Masters series, the top-8 finals [ATP Finals], but you have to be higher ranked and a certain ranking for that. So even if you want to play with another person, the rankings aren’t good enough. This was really the first time we had an opportunity where everything sort of clicked. He was looking for a partner, I was looking for a partner, and the rankings were quite similar. It allowed us to play a proper schedule, which is how we then were able to get together and play,” explained Bhambri.
Yuki Bhambri and Michael Venus. (Image credit: X)
10 years on from last teaming up in Tashkent, Venus, 37, is nearing the end of his career and 33-year-old Bhambri has shifted ambitions to doubles.“(We’re) Different people altogether. I was 20-21 at that time, just coming onto the tour, trying to make a mark on the tour. Same for him as well. I remember, we lost to Leander (Paes) and Radek Stepanek that year (in 2014 Australian Open). For him, it was a big boost in terms of moving towards doubles that he had already decided then. That sort of started his career.“And for me, it was a step in the right direction of being able to play at that stage. I had never played a main draw of a Slam before. I was still finding my mark in singles. So, very different now. We have come back a lot more experienced.“He is more towards the end of his career. And for me, a start of a completely different journey in terms of doubles. So, I joke about him and say, I started a doubles career and I want to be there when you cross. So, that would have a nice touch to it,” he stated with a smile.
