MADRID, SPAIN — Fresh off a high-octane victory at the Mutua Madrid Open, India’s top-ranked doubles star Yuki Bhambri sat down with Indian Tennis Daily to discuss the physical and mental toll of elite clay-court tennis. After navigating a tense straight-sets win over the Austrian duo of Erler and Miedler, Bhambri opened up about the tactical adjustments required for Madrid’s unique altitude, the support of Rohan Bopanna in his box, and the growing synergy with his partner, Michael Venus.

As the pair prepares to face the in-form Valentin Vacherot and Romain Arneodo in the Round of 16, Bhambri remains focused on maintaining the momentum that has seen him become a mainstay at the Masters 1000 level.

Prateek: Hello fans of Indian Tennis Daily! I’m Prateek and I’m with the number one doubles player from India right now, Yuki Bhambri. Congratulations on the victory today!

Yuki: Thank you.

Prateek: How are you feeling after that mega competitive match?

Yuki: Yeah, it was tough. Every match at a Masters level is quite difficult and this was no exception. Obviously a good team who we’ve come across on multiple occasions, so happy that we were able to really fight today and hang in there to get the win.

Prateek: Quite a competitive match, loads of pressure points. I’m sure you must be feeling relieved — what was going through your mind when you were facing those tough moments?

Yuki: Yeah, definitely difficult. Clay tennis is, I think, one of the toughest surfaces to play on. It challenges you physically and mentally as well, so you just have to hang in there and fight for every point. That’s what we did. The momentum kept swinging back and forth, no easy points. Even when we had a lead we had to fight through. I thought my partner Michael really came up with the goods today — he was serving incredibly well and moving well for some of the balls too. He took a lot of pressure off me today.

Prateek: Yeah, some of the first serves you guys hit were incredible. You were really able to grip the momentum in your favor. Congratulations on that once again! And your thoughts on the conditions in Madrid — how do you like the weather and how did you adjust to the conditions here?

Yuki: I definitely love the weather. It’s nice to be in 24, 25 degrees after the cold in Romania and London where I was training recently. Absolutely love the weather here in Spain. It’s a little different with the altitude though — the courts are a lot faster, the ball travels so fast, and it’s not your typical clay court we’ve been playing on for the past couple of weeks. It takes a bit of adjustment, but happy to get through. As I said, it was a tough first round, so happy to have made those adjustments and gotten the win today.

Prateek: Madrid play is kind of hardcore because of the altitude, but I’m glad you’re liking the weather! It’s pretty good this time of year — I would highly recommend not visiting in July and August though! (laughs)

And last but not least — in the next round you’ve got Vacherot, who you faced in the Indian Wells semi-finals. They also just beat the world number one pairing of Granollers and Zeballos. What are your thoughts going into that match?

Yuki: Yeah, not surprised by that at all. I think Vacherot has been going from strength to strength since his Shanghai win — in singles and doubles both. He’s made a Masters final in doubles as well, and he’s playing alongside a countryman who knows all about winning and handling pressure, having played a couple of Monte Carlo finals and won it. So it’s definitely going to be a tough outing again in these conditions and we’ll probably have to be at our best. I faced him at Indian Wells and it was quite a difficult match there too, so hopefully we can turn the tables around.

Prateek: Wonderful. That’s all from my side — best of luck in the next round. All the Indians here are going to come and support you for sure! Any last words for our Indian Tennis Daily fans?

Yuki: Thank you for coming out — you were exceptional.

Prateek: My hands are still red by the way, after all that clapping! (laughs)

Yuki: Absolutely loved the enthusiasm and the cheering — you matched the Austrians quite a lot, so thank you! You really helped us push through with your support. And Indian Tennis Daily is doing a phenomenal job covering all the players — kudos to them. We all look forward to it and read about it. Good job, well done, and hopefully we can just keep doing our best and putting Indian tennis high on the map.

Prateek: Thank you so much, Yuki. Tough battle coming up but best of luck, and I hope you rest well after that amazing match!

Yuki: Thank you!