India's top singles player Yuki Bhambri once again failed to clear the first round hurdle of a Grand Slam losing to Frenchman Pierre Hugues Herbert in straight sets at the US Open.
World No 96, Bhambri lost 3-6, 6-7 (3-7), 5-7 to Herbert in a match that lasted nearly two and half hours.
The India No 1 did put up a fight in the second and third sets but that wasn't enough to beat the World No 75, who had earlier got better of the Delhi boy during the Maharashtra Open.
There wasn't much to choose statistically between the two players even though Herbert converted a couple of more breakpoints.
However what made the difference was the Frenchman being able to unleash winners at various key moments. In all, he hit 13 winners in three sets while Bhambri failed to hit any.