Yuki Bhambri determined to perform at US Open 2026 after dream 2025 run

Yuki Bhambri will draw inspiration from his breakthrough US Open 2025 semi-final run as he returns to New York with Michael Venus. The Indian will look to stay focused and take the 2026 campaign match by match without being weighed down by past success.Yuki Bhambri will be looking to go deep in US Open 2026 (Reuters Photo)Yuki Bhambri will look to draw on the memories of his breakthrough run at last year’s US Open when he returns to Flushing Meadows for another campaign alongside New Zealand’s Michael Venus. The Indian and Venus reached the semi-finals in 2025, putting together an impressive run before their challenge was ended by Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski.Bhambri and Venus had been seeded 14th last year and stunned the fourth-seeded Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz in the third round before overcoming 11th seeds Nikola Mektic and Rajeev Ram in the quarter-finals. They eventually lost their semi-final 6-7(2), 7-6(5), 6-4 to Salisbury and Skupski after a contest that lasted almost three hours.With another opportunity in New York, Bhambri believes the biggest challenge will be making the right mental switch and not allowing last year’s success to create unnecessary expectations.“I think it’s a bit of a mental switch, having made a deep run and being quite close to making the final last year. So, I have fond memories from last year, making it to the semi-finals. I’ve had good success in both singles and doubles as well. Obviously, last year was spectacular for me and a bit of a breakthrough moment. So, I’m looking forward to going out there again. I’m excited; it’s the last Slam of the year, and I’m definitely excited to come out and perform,” Bhambri told JioHotstar. ‘EVERY MATCH IS TOUGH’Bhambri and Venus will begin their 2026 campaign against the American pair of Ryan Seggerman and Patrik Trhac. The first-round clash is scheduled for September 5, with the Indian-Kiwi duo entering the tournament hoping to reproduce the consistency that carried them deep into the draw 12 months ago.The pair of Trhac and Seggerman have enjoyed a strong run together, including a final appearance at the Los Cabos tournament in August. “I think we’ll probably take it match by match, but hopefully, we can go deep again. That would be great. I’m back to playing with Michael, and we’re both looking forward to it. We obviously have a tough first round against two local Americans. We’ve already seen so many upsets, so you can’t really look past the first round. Every match is tough. Ideally, you would want to go all the way, but I think we’ve got to focus on each match and see how it goes,” Bhambri added.The 2026 season has already provided Bhambri with some encouraging moments. He reached the quarterfinals of Indian Wells with Andre Goransson earlier this year, while he and Venus have continued their partnership at several tournaments.Now, with last year’s semi-final run serving as both inspiration and a reminder of what is possible, Bhambri will aim to turn those fond memories into another memorable fortnight in New York.- EndsPublished By: sabyasachi chowdhuryPublished On: Sep 5, 2026 19:27 IST