How much prize money did N Sriram Balaji get despite losing in the men's doubles second round at the US Open 2024?

N Sriram Balaji could not make his way into the third round of the US Open 2024 men’s doubles. On Friday, August 30, Balaji and Argentina’s Guido Andreozzi lost in straight sets to Neal Skupski and Michael Venus on Court 5. It took the British-New Zealand pair an hour and 37 minutes to win the match 7-6 (7-4), 6-4.

After crashing out, Balaji will get $40,000, which is the prize money for the ones eliminated in the second round of men’s doubles. Had he won the match and advanced to the third round, the Indian player would have assured himself a prize money of at least $63,000.

The winner of the men’s doubles competition will get a prize money of $750,000. Earlier, Balaji earned his maiden win at the US Open in men's doubles after beating Marcus Daniell and Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela in a thrilling three-setter.

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N Sriram Balaji goes down fighting in US Open 2024

Overall, the break of serve that Balaji and Andreozzi conceded in the second set turned out to be the decisive factor in their match against Skupski and Venus. The Indo-Argentine pair had only one chance to break into the match, but they could not convert the point.

Moreover, they gave their opponents seven break-point chances but got away with conceding only a single break. Skupski and Venus were outstanding with their first serves, winning 82 percent of points (31 out of 38) from them.

Both sides were tentative with their second serves, making four double faults apiece. Balaji and Andreozzi made 14 unforced errors, three more than their opponents. They also hit 29 winners, five less than Skupski and Venus.

Back in July, Balaji played men's doubles with Rohan Bopanna in the Paris Olympics, but could not go beyond the first round of the clay-court tournament.