India's Yuki Bhambri and Sweden's André Göransson advanced to the men's doubles semifinals of the ATP 500 Vienna Open on Friday after their quarterfinal opponents, the world No. 2 pair of Mate Pavić and Marcelo Arévalo, retired hurt. The unseeded Indo-Swedish duo progressed via walkover after the match was level at one set apiece.
Bhambri and Göransson had lost the closely contested first set 6-7(6) but fought back to claim the second set 6-4. Following the conclusion of the second set, Pavić and Arévalo, who won the French Open men's doubles title in 2024, withdrew from the match, granting Bhambri and Göransson passage to the final four. This marked the second time this year Bhambri had been on the winning side against the Croatian-Salvadoran duo, having previously beaten them in Dubai with former partner Ivan Dodig.
To reach the quarterfinals, Bhambri and Göransson overcame Austrian wildcards Neil Oberleitner and Joel Schwaerzler in a tough first-round encounter. After losing the opening set 3-6 against the local favorites, they mounted a comeback, improving their first-serve points dominating the second set 6-1 before clinching the match tiebreak 10-8.
In the semifinals scheduled for Saturday, Bhambri and Göransson will face the pair of Lucas Miedler from Austria and Francisco Cabral from Portugal. The run carries Bhambri's transition into an astute doubles player on the ATP Tour.