Wimbledon 2025: Bhambri and Galloway's Doubles Dream Ends in Third-Round Tiebreak Defeat

London: Despite a valiant effort, the Indo-American duo of Yuki Bhambri and Robert Galloway suffered a heartbreaking defeat in the third round of the Wimbledon men's doubles tournament. Facing the formidable fourth seeds, Marcel Granollers of Spain and Horacio Zeballos of Argentina, Bhambri and Galloway lost a close match, 4-6, 6-3, 6-7 (4-10).

Galloway, who was already nursing a fractured finger on his left hand sustained during mixed doubles, showed remarkable grit playing the match with the injury. The match lasted for two hours and 12 minutes.

Bhambri and Galloway demonstrated resilience, rallying from a 2-5 deficit in the final set. However, they were ultimately outmatched by the Spanish-Argentinian team in the decisive tie-break, where Granollers and Zeballos surged to a commanding 7-0 lead. While the Indo-American pair struggled to gain momentum in the opening set, they found their rhythm in the second, securing a crucial break in the sixth game to establish a 4-2 advantage.

The third set saw a setback for the 16th seeds when Galloway's serve was broken in the fourth game, putting them behind 1-3 and later 2-5. However, Bhambri and Galloway showcased their fighting spirit by winning the subsequent three games, leveling the score and injecting renewed hope into their campaign.

With Bhambri's exit, the Indian presence at this year's Wimbledon has come to an end. Looking ahead, Bhambri, 33, is set to partner with Kiwi player Michael Venus. Bhambri acknowledged that this partnership is a long-term plan that came about after partnering with Galloway in mid-April.

The duo of Bhambri and Galloway began their partnership in Munich in mid-April and competed in 10 tournaments together. Following first-round exits in their initial three tournaments, they briefly participated in a Challenger event. They reached the final of the ATP 250 Series event in Mallorca leading up to Wimbledon.

Bhambri commented on his future partnership with Venus, stating, "Mike was available, he is one of my closest friends on Tour. At some point, eventually, we were always going to play together, and this was an opportunity that we finally had. It just made sense."

Bhambri and Venus have known each other since Bhambri's teenage years. “When he (Venus) started playing doubles, I was sort of the initial partner,” said Bhambri, “We obviously had our first Grand Slam together, which has still been our best result to date in Australia, making the third round.”