New Delhi, Sept. 5 -- India's Sriram Balaji and American Evan King needed almost three hours, two tie-breaks and six saved match points before they could walk off an outside court at Flushing Meadows as first-round winners. Playing together for the first time, the pair beat Dutch duo Sander Arends and David Pel 3-6, 7-6 (9-7), 7-6 (12-10) to reach the US Open 2026 men's doubles second round.

The new partnership had been arranged earlier in the summer after Balaji reached out to King, with both looking for a partner. Their calendars only lined up in New York. On a warm Friday, with only a thin crowd watching, they still looked like a pair that had been on the same side of the net for months.

Arends and Pel, French Open quarter-finalists ...