Monday 25 November 2013

Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan looks for a good finish to a healthy season


Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan will be keen to wind up the season with a good
fare in the $10,000 ITF men’s Futures tennis that begins at the VIP’s
club in Raipur on Monday.

After having won the doubles title with Purav Raja last week in
Bhopal, the top-seeded Jeevan has decided to focus only in singles
this week.

Sriram Balaji, the second seed who has won a title from two finals
over the last two weeks, will also be keen to finish on a high.

The foreign players, Na Jung-Woong of Korea and Torsten Wietoska of
Germany, seeded third and fourth respectively, will look to stop the
Indian domination that was evident over the last two weeks.

The seedings: 1. Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan, 2. Sriram Balaji, 3. Na
Jung-Woong (Kor), 4. Torsten Wietoska (Ger), 5. V. M. Ranjeet, 6. R.
Ramkumar, 7. Markos Kalovelonis (Gre), 8. Vijay Sundar Prashanth.

The results:


Qualifying event (second and final round): Ronak Manuja bt Nishanth
Rebello 6-2, -4; Ronit Singh Bisht bt Elwin Antony 6-4, 6-3; Anvit
Bendre bt Kuatbek Abiyev (Kaz) 6-2, 3-6, 6-2; Mukund Sasikumar bt
Jannis Liniger (Sui) 5-7, 6-4, 6-3; Chandril Sood bt Akash Wagh 6-1,
1-0 (retired); Lakshit Sood bt Kunal Anand 7-6(5), 6-2; Odil Akramov
(Uzb) bt Ajai Selvaraj 3-6, 6-4, 6-3; Timur Khabibulin (Kaz) bt
Sagadat Ayap (Kaz) 6-3, 6-4.


Di Wu of China wins Australian Open wild card for the second time

NEW DELHI, NOV. 24:

Di Wu of China, who had stopped Yuki Bhambri in the semifinals, won
the Australian Open wild card for the second successive time, as he
tamed compatriot Ze Zhang 6-0, 6-3 in the final of the Asia-Oceania
play-off at the Luohu Centre, Shenzhen, on Sunday.

The women’s wild card was bagged by the 19-year-old qualifier Hao Chen
Tang of China, ranked 466 in the world, who beat the third-seeded Risa
Ozaki of Japan 6-3, 6-3 in the final.

The first round singles entry for the Australian Open will be worth
about $27,500. Yuki Bhambri who won the doubles wild card with Michael
Venus of New Zealand has been assured of about $12,500 for the team.

Simran Kaur Sethi the star attraction in ITF juniors in Delhi

NEW DELHI, NOV. 24:

Simran Kaur Sethi will be the star attraction in the ITF grade-4
junior tennis tournament to be played at the DLTA Complex here from
Monday.

The 125th ranked Simran, however, may have a tough opening as the top
seed in the girls section against qualifier Nandini Sharma. The
14-year-old Nandini had made the semifinals of the event last week in
Guwahati.

The strength of the field, as much as the unpredictability at the
junior level, could be gleaned from the fact that Jennifer Luikham who
had made the final in both singles and doubles last week, lost in the
second round of the qualifying event to unranked Renu Sharma in three
sets.

Of course, it was sad that she had to rush from Guwahati and compete
in the qualifying event, when she deserved a wild card.

The presence of Dhruthi Venugopal, Vaanti Shinde, Karman Kaur and
Vanshika Sawhney should make it a lively affair in the girls event,
which will also have two seeded players from Egypt, Habiba Lasheen and
Nermeen Shawky apart from Sarvinoz Saidhujaeva of Uzbekistan.

In the boys section, it will be a good chance to establish his strong
game for the fourth-seeded B. R. Nikshep, who may run into the
top-seeded Kennosuke Nouchi of Japan in the semifinals.

The seedings:


Boys: 1. Kennosuke Nouchi (Jpn), 2. Venkata Gnana Bhaskar, 3. Chak
Pong Marco Lam (Hkg), 4. B. R. Nikshep, 5. Vidit vaghela, 6. Aditya
Deswal, 7. Arjun Ramakrishnan, 8. Nishangan Nadaraja (Sri).

Girls: 1. Simran Kaur Sethi, 2. Dhruthi Venugopal, 3. Habiba Lasheen
(Egy), 4. Nermeen shawky (Egy), 5. Vasanti shinde, 6. Sarvinoz
Saidhujaeva (Uzb), 7. Karman Kaur Thandi, 8. Vanshika Sawhney.

The results:

Qualifying event: Boys (third and final round): Param Pun bt Shrey
Gupta 6-1, 7-6(2); Yash Yadav bt abhimanyu Dakwale 3-6, 6-3, 7-5; Taha
kapadia bt Anav Vadehra 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-3; Manav Pondkule bt Udayan
Bhakar 2-6, 6-4, 6-4. Second round: Udayan Bhakar bt John Paul Avila
6-4, 6-3.

Girls (third and final round): Xeniya Prokopchuk (Ukr) bt aarushi
Kakkar 6-0, 6-1; Moulika Ram bt Eeshita Pande 6-3, 6-1; Nandini Sharma
bt Renu Sharma 5-7, 6-4, 6-2; Rashmitha Pasula Reddy bt Ainur
Suleimenova (Kaz) 6-3, 7-6(3).

Second round: Xeniya Prokopchuk bt Mansi Reddy Siddareddy 6-3, 7-6(2);
Aarushi Kakkar bt Avika Sagwal 7-6(6), 6-1; Eeshita Pande bt Abhilasha
Vishwanath 6-2, 6-1; Moulika ram bt Nupur Umashankar 6-4, 6-2; Renu
Sharma bt Jennifer Luikham 7-5, 4-6, 6-1; Nandini Sharma bt Ananya
Mahapatra 6-4, 7-6(4); Rashmitha Pasula Reddy bt Anupreet Bedi 6-0,
6-4; Ainur Suleimenova bt Tanasha Khandpur 6-1, 7-6(0).


Sunday 24 November 2013

Yuki Bhambri wins doubles wild card for Australian Open



Yuki Bhambri clinched the doubles wild card with Michael Venus of New
Zealand, but his singles campaign was cut short in the semifinals by
Di Wu of China, in the Asia-Oceania Australian Open wild card play-off
at the Luohu Tennis Centre, Shenzhen, China, on Saturday.

The second-seeded Yuki and Venus, who had won a Challenger earlier in
the season, had to sweat it out 7-6(3), 1-6, 10-5 against the
fourth-seeded Gong Miao-Xin and Li Zhe of China in the doubles final.

‘’It was a tough match and very close. We really had to dig deep to
win this one and both of us are excited to play in Australia. I have
always enjoyed playing doubles and I want to get my doubles ranking up
along side my singles’’, said the 21-year-old Yuki, when contacted by
The Hindu in China.

The Indo-Kiwi pair got off to a sluggish start and trailed 1-4 before
bouncing back. Yuki saved a setpoint on his serve in the 12th game. It
was Li Zhe’s served that proved the weak link in the first set
tie-break and the match tie-break subsequently.

However, in singles, the second-seeded Yuki was unable to get past Di
Wu of China who had clinched the wild card in the last edition for his
maiden Grand Slam appearance. The third-seeded Chinese, ranked 205,
one rung below Yuki, won the match 7-6(6), 6-4, saving two setpoints
in the tie-break.

‘’I had opportunities to close out the first set, as I served at 5-4.
I was up 6-4 in the tie-break. But, he never gave me a chance in those
points. He raised his level a bit on the crucial points’’, said Yuki,
quite liberal in praise of the Chinese whom he had beaten in the final
of the Asia-Oceania junior championship in Delhi in 2007.

Interestingly, the top-seeded Jimmy Wang of Chinese Taipei was also
shown the door 6-2, 6-4 by Ze Zhang of China in the other semifinal.

The women’s doubles wild card was bagged by Xinyun Han of China and
Miki Miyamura of Japan who beat Hao Chen Tang and Zhaoxuan Yang of
China 4-6, 6-4, 10-8 in the final. It was the second successive
doubles wild card for Xinyun Han as she had made it with Zhou Yi-Miao
last time.

Sriram Balaji clinches second singles title of the season

BHOPAL, NOV. 23:

It was the second singles title of the season for Sriram Balaji as the
second seed defeated the third-seeded Na Jung-Woong of Korea 7-5, 7-5
in the final of the $15,000 ITF men’s Futures tennis tournament at the
Arera Club here on Saturday.

It was a welcome title for the 23-year-old Balaji, who trains at the
Schuttler Waske tennis centre in Germany, after he had failed to win a
set against Yuki Bhambri in the previous final last week in Delhi.

Incidentally, Balaji did not drop a set in the whole week in singles,
and was understandably delighted to add to the title he had won
earlier in the season at home.

‘’It has been a great week and has given me a lot of confidence. I had
to grind right from the first round’’, said Balaji who broke the
Korean in the 12th game of the first set to put the match on a
decisive course.

Balaji bounced back from being a break down in the second set to
finish the match in straight sets.

‘’He was not making many mistakes and that put me under pressure. I
served well and mixed up by going to the net’’, said Balaji quite
happy to have his friend from the US, Navaneetha Kannan travelling
with him for support.

The title was worth 27 ATP points for the 458th ranked Balaji who had
been ranked a career-best 313 in February. It was the fourth title for
Balaji and third at home.


Akash Wagh beats Paul Monteban in ITF men’s event in Raipur

RAIPUR, NOV. 23:

Akash Wagh defeated Paul Monteban of the Netherlands 6-3, 6-4 in the
first qualifying round of the $10,000 ITF men’s Futures tennis
tournament at the VIP’s Club here on Saturday.

The results:


Qualifying event (first round): Nishant Rebello bt Mohamed Hussain
Shaikh 6-0, 6-0; Ronit Singh Bisht bt Kaysar Bekimov (Kaz) 6-1, 6-4;
Kuatbek Abiyev (Kaz) bt Saurabh Singh 6-2, 6-2; Jannis Liniger (Sui)
bt Amrit Narasimhan 6-2, 6-2; Mukund Sasikumar bt Neeraj Elangovan
6-4, 2-0 (retired); Chandril Sood bt Sarthak Deoras 6-0, 6-0; Akash
Wagh bt Paul Monteban (Ned) 6-3, 6-4; Lakshit Sood bt Nail Khabiyev
(US) 6-1, 6-4; Kunal Anand bt Chinmay Pradhan 6-1, 6-0; Ajai Selvaraj
bt Jaganmaya Panigrahi 6-1, 6-2; Odil Akramov (Uzb) bt Arpit Sharma
6-1, 6-3; Timur Khabibulin (Kaz) bt Shahbaaz Khan 6-4, 6-4; Sagadat
Ayap (Kaz) bt Vikram Naidu Srinivas 6-1, 6-3.


Shrey Gupta outplays top seed Dhir Gala in qualifying event in ITF juniors in Delhi

NEW DELHI, NOV. 23:

Shrey Gupta outplayed the top-seeded Dhir Gala 6-0, 6-4 in the second
qualifying round of the boys section in the ITF grade-4 junior tennis
tournament at the DLTA Complex here on Saturday.

The wild cards for the main draw in the boys section were given to
Amarnath Arora, Tanishq Mahendru, Pranav Malhotra and Dheer Anushsingh
Bhatti.

The wild cards for girls went to, Simran Kaur Sethi, Vasanti Shinde,
Aarushi Bhasin and Kanishka Chawla.

The results:


Qualifying event: Boys (second round): Shrey Gupta bt Dhir Gala 6-0,
6-4; Param Pun bt Raghav Jaisinghani 6-2, 7-5; Yash Yadav bt Kushaan
Nath 6-4, 6-4; Abhimanyu Dakwale bt Taran Mundkur 6-2, 6-1; Taha
Kapadia bt Robin Gajree 6-1, 6-3; Anav Vadehra bt Jaffer Javed 6-1,
6-4; Manav Pondkule bt Nimesh Khandelwal 6-2, 6-1.

First round: Dhir Gala bt Prithvi Khanna 6-0, 6-2; Shrey Gupta bt
Anshuman Gulia 6-4, 6-3; Raghav Jaisinghani bt Vignesh Subramanyan
(US) 6-2, 6-3; Param Pun bt Kartikeya Sharma 6-2, 6-1; Kushaan Nath bt
Nehra Lavish 6-3, 6-0; Yash Yadav bt Anupam Kumar 6-1, 6-2; Abhimanyu
Dakwale bt Harmeet Luthra 6-1, 6-3; Taran Mundkur bt Siddhant Mahala
6-1, 6-0; Taha Kapadia bt Mohit Bhardwaj 6-1, 6-0; Robin Gajree bt
Rahul Khanna 6-0, 6-0; Anav Vadehra bt Abhinav Mahajan 6-2, 6-4;
Jaffer Javed bt Kartik Kuber Chavare Bhaiyu 6-3, 6-3; John Paul Avila
(Mex) bt Upamanyu Sinha 6-0, 6-2; Udayan Bhakar bt Maahin Puri 6-1,
6-2; Nimesh Khandelwal bt Vidul Talwar 6-1, 7-6(5); Manav Pondkule bt
Vanshal D’Souza 6-1, 7-6(6).

Girls (first round): Mansi Reddy Siddareddy bt Madhumitha Meenakshi
Rajan 6-4, 6-1; Abhilasha Vishwanath bt Sonul Jain 6-2, 6-1; Renu
Sharma bt Simran Wadhwa 7-5, 6-3; Ananya Mahapatra bt Priyam Kumari
6-1, 6-0; Anupreet Bedi bt Tuhina Chopra 6-2, 6-2; Tanasha Khandpur bt
Sahsmitha Kotte 6-1, 6-0.


Saturday 23 November 2013

Yuki Bhambri one step away from doubles wild card


Yuki Bhambri was one step away from clinching the doubles wild card
for the Australian Open as he and Michael Venus of New Zealand
outclassed the third-seeded Chieh-Fu Wang and Jimmy Wang of Chiense
Taipei 6-2, 6-0 in the Asia-Oceania play-off at the Luohu Tennis
Centre, Shenzhen, on Friday.

The second-seeded Indo-Kiwi combination that has dropped only three
games in all in two matches will play the fourth-seeded Mao-Xin Gong
and Zhe Li of China in the doubles final.

It may be noted that Jimmy Wang has been seeded No.1 in singles and
set up a semifinal clash against the fourth-seeded Ze Zhang of China.

On his part, the 21-year-old Yuki had a robust outing in the singles
as well as he made the semifinals, with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over
qualifier Zhucheng Zhu of China. He will be challenged by the
third-seeded Di Wu of China in the semifinals.

Incidentally, Di Wu had won the wild card play-off last year and
competed in the Australian Open this season. Yuki had beaten the
Chinese in the final of the Asia-Oceania junior final in Delhi in
2007.

‘’That was lone time ago. It is going to be interesting as we have
similar styles. We are ranked almost the same’’, said Yuki when
contacted by The Hindu in China.

Yuki is ranked 204 to 205 of Di Wu. While Yuki was ranked a
career-best 174 last year, the Chinese was ranked 161 in May this
year. Yuki has won two Challenger and nine Futures singles titles, to
Di Wu’s eight Futures titles.

‘’I am playing well, feeling confident. So, hopefully, I can pull this
one out and get one more step closer to the wild card’’, said Yuki.


Sriram Balaji makes final; Jeevan and Purav win doubles title

BHOPAL, NOV. 22:

Sriram Balaji made his second successive final as he beat wild cad
Vijay Sundar Prashanth 7-5, 6-2 in the semifinals of the $15,000 ITF
men’s Futures tennis tournament at the Arera Club here on Friday.

The 23-year-old Balaji will be looking for his fourth singles title
and second this season at this level, against the third-seeded Korea
Na Jung-Woong who ousted the top-seeded Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan in three
sets.

Jeevan, however, won the doubles title in partnership with the 90th
ranked Purav Raja. For the 27-year-old Raja who had won the ATP Tour
title in Bogota and the Kyoto Challenger with Divij Sharan earlier
this season, it was a unique experience to wind up the season with a
Futures title.

It was the ninth doubles title and fifth of the season for the
25-year-old Jeevan.

Talking about his singles match, Jeevan said that he should have won
it even though his opponent was a solid player.

‘’It has been a long season and a lot of matches. I play only singles
in Raipur next week, and hope to come back fresh and eager next
season’’, said Jeevan.

The results:


Singles (semifinals): Na Jung-Woong (Kor) bt Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan
6-2, 4-6, 6-2; Sriram Balaji bt Vijay Sundar Prashanth 7-5, 6-2.

Doubles (final): Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Purav Raja bt Daniiar
Duldaev (Kgz) and Karunuday Singh 6-3, 6-3.


Double defeat for Jennifer Luikham in ITF juniors finals in Assam

GUWAHATI, NOV. 22:

Top-seeded Snehal Mane and Vanshika Sawhney fought their way past
Jennifer Luikham and Mani Reddy Siddareddy 12-10 in the super tie
break in the doubles final of the ITF grade-5 junior tennis tournament
here on Friday.

It was a double blow for the 14-year-old Jennifer, as she was beaten
in the singles final as well, relatively easily for the loss of six
games, by Yinglak Jittakoat of Thailand.

In the boys doubles final, Delhi lad Deepak Vishavkarma joined Lez
Kazakov of Russia to clinch the title 10-7 in the super tie-break
ahead of the Hong Kong duo of Chak Pong Marco Lam and Robin Hao Nguy.

It was a commendable effort from Kazkaov after he had lost the singles
final in three sets to the top-seeded Alexey Prokopchuk of Ukraine.

The results (finals):


Boys: Alexey Prokopchuk (Ukr) bt Lev Kazakov (Rus) 6-1, 0-6, 6-1.

Doubles: Lez Kazakov (Rus) and Deepak Vishavkarma bt Chak Pong Marco
Lam and Robin Hao Nguy (Hkg) 6-7(3), 6-0, 10-7.

Girls: Yinglak Jittakoat (Tha) bt Jennifer Luikham 6-4, 6-2.

Doubles: Snehal Mane and Vanshika Sawhney bt Jennifer Luikham and
Mansi Reddy Siddareddy 6-7(4), 6-2, 12-10.


Paramveer Singh Bajwa loses to top seed Shamael Chaudhry in Bangladesh

Paramveer Singh Bajwa went down fighting 3-6, 6-4, 2-6 to the top-seeded Shamael Chaudhry of Britain, the eventual champion, in the boys quarterfinals of the ITF grade-5 junior tennis tournament in Rajshahi, Bangladesh.

The results:

Boys (quarterfinals): Shamael Chaudhry (GBR) bt Paramveer Singh Bajwa 6-3, 4-6, 6-2; Kareem Allaf  (syr) bt Sahil Gaware 6-4, 6-1; Shao-Min Ko (Tpe) bt Aditya Anant Gokhale 6-3, 3-6, 6-0.

Pre-quarterfinals: Shamael Chaudhry bt S. D. Prajwal Dev 6-3, 6-3; Paramveer Singh Bajwa bt Vladimir Gnilozubov (Kaz) 6-2, 6-1; Zhansultan Chembotayev (Kaz) bt Richie Agarwal 6-1, 6-1; Tin Chen (Tpe) bt alex Solanki 6-3, 6-4; Sahil Gaware bt Nihit Rawal 6-2, 6-1; Kareem Allaf bt Saitejas Mopuri 6-4, 6-1; Aditya Anant Gokhale bt Bolat Mamyr (Kaz) 6-7(1), 6-4, 6-4.

Second round: S. D. Prajwal Dev bt Md. Rumon (Ban) 6-0, 6-3; Paramveer Singh Bajwa bt Cheuk Yin Yuen (Hkg) 6-2, 6-2; zhansultan Chembotayev (Kaz) bt Christian cummings 6-4, 6-2; Richie Agarwal bt Mohammad Jamil Bhuiyan (Ban) 6-3, 6-0; Alex solanki bt Marius Pakstys 9Ltu) 6-1, 6-0; Sahil Gaware bt Yang Liu (tpe) 7-6(3), 6-3; Nihit Rawal bt Adi Kaliaperov (Kaz) 6-2, 5-7, 6-2; Saitejas Mopuri bt sultan Kenes (Kaz) 6-1, 6-1; Wai Leuk alan Lee (Hkg) bt Vishu Prasad 3-6, 6-0, 7-6(2); Aditya Anant Gokhale bt Sree Biplob Ram (Ban) 6-1, 6-4.

Doubles (quarterfinals): Kareem Allaf (Syr) and Shamael Chaudhry (GBR) bt Aditya Anant Gokhale and Saitejas Mopuri 6-1, 6-2; Vladimir Gnilozubov and Sultan Kenes (Kaz) bt Paramveer Singh Bajwa and Alex Solanki 7-5, 6-1;  Tin Chen and Shao-Min Ko (Tpe) bt Richie Agarwal and Sahil Gaware 6-3, 7-5; Zhansultan Chembotayev and Bolat Mamyr (Kaz) bt S. D. Prajwal Dev and Vishu Prasad 6-4, 7-6(2).

Pre-quarterfinals: Aditya Anant Gokhale and Saitejas Mopuri bt John Paul Avila (Mex) and sree Biplob Ram (Ban) 7-5, 7-6(1); Paramveer Singh Bajwal and Alex Solanki bt Adi Kaliakperov (Kaz) and Yang Liu (Tpe) 6-0, 6-1; Vladimir Gnilozubov and Sultan Kenes (Kaz) bt Mohammad Jamil Bhuiyan (Ban) and Christian cummings 6-3, 6-3; Richie Agarwal and Sahil Gaware bt Wai Leuk alan Lee and Cheuk Yin Yuen (Hkg) 6-2, 6-1; tin chen and Shao-Min Ko (Tpe) bt Yuvraj Bains and Nihit Rawal -3, 6-2; S. D. Prajwal Dev and Vishu Prasad bt mamun Bapari and Delowar Hossain (Ban) 6-1, 6-0.

Girls (pre-quarterfinals): Han-Chi Chen (Tpe) bt Sri Sai Shivani 7-5, 6-1; Melisa Bekirova (Uzb) bt Shivani Manjanna 6-2, 6-1; Luciana rabines (US) bt Apekshita Alkesh 6-3, 6-2; Nancy Fawzy (Egy) bt Angella Raman 4-6, 6-3, 6-2; Komola Umarova (Uzb) bt Chaithali Adinath Narde 6-0, 6-0.

Doubles (semifinals): Sarvinoz Saidhujaeva and Komola Umarova (Uzb) bt Angeline Devi Devanthiran (Sin) and Angella Raman 6-1, 7-5; Quarterfinals: Angeline Devi Devanthiran and Angella Raman bt Shivani Manjanna and Rukshika Wijesooriya (Sri) 7-5, 2-6, 12-10; Nancy Fawzy (Egy) and Kristina Ten (Uzb) bt Sri Sai Shivani and Nikitha Tirdala 6-0, 6-4.

Pre-quarterfinals: Han-Chi Chen and Yang Lee (Tpe) bt chaithali Adinath Narde and Apekshita Alkesh 6-1, 6-0; Shivani Manjanna and Rukshika Wijesooriya bt Afrana Islam Prity and Ayesha Sultana (Ban) 6-0, 6-3; Sri Sai Shivani and Nikitha Tirdala bt Jhilik Chakma and Mumitu Jannau Mou (Ban) 6-0, 1-0 (retired).


Friday 22 November 2013

Yuki Bhambri and Michael Venus make strong start in Australian Open wild card play-off


The second-seeded Yuki Bhambri and Michael Venus of New Zealand were
in roaring form as they brushed aside Tianjia Guo and Shenghao Zhou of
China 6-0, 6-1 in the doubles first round of the Asia-Oceania
Australian Open wild card play-off at the Luohu Tennis Centre,
Shenzhen, China, on Thursday.

In the quarterfinals, the Indo-Kiwi combination will face the
third-seeded Chieh-Fu Wang and Jimmy Wang of Chinese Taipei.

In the singles quarterfinals, the second-seeded Yuki will be
challenged by local qualifier Zhicheng Zhu.

Sriram Balaji prevails over Vishnu Vardhan yet again in ITF men’s event in Bhopal
BHOPAL, NOV. 21:

Sriram Balaji scored his second successive victory over Vishnu Vardhan
as he recorded a 7-5, 7-6(6) win in the quarterfinals of the $15,000
ITF men’s Futures tennis tournament at the Arera Club here on
Thursday.

The second-seeded Balaji will be challenged by wild card Vijay Sundar
Prashanth who ousted the sixth-seeded Karunuday Singh in straight
sets.

The other semifinal will feature the top-seeded Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan
against the third-seeded Na Jung-Woong of Korea.

There was some consolation for Karunuday Singh, as he in partnership
with Daniiar Duldaev of Kyrgyzstan knocked out the second seeds and
the champion of the Delhi event last week, Sriram Balaji and V. M.
Ranjeet in straight sets, in the doubles semifinals.

The top-seeded Jeevan and Purav Raja had to fight their way past R.
Ramkumar and Ashwin Vijayragavan 12-10 in the super tiebreak.

The results:

Singles (quarterfinals): Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan bt R. Ramkumar 6-3,

6-3; Na Jung-Woong (Kor) bt David Pel (Ned) 6-4, 7-6(3); Vijay Sundar
Prashanth bt Karunuday Singh 6-4, 6-4; Sriram Balaji bt Vishnu Vardhan
7-5, 7-6(6).

Doubles (semifinals): Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Purav Raja bt R.
Ramkumar and Ashwin Vijayragavan 6-4, 5-7, 12-10; Daniiar Duldaev
(Kgz) and Karunuday Singh bt Sriram Balaji and V. M. Ranjeet 6-4, 6-4.

Ashmitha Easwaramurthi loses doubles quarterfinals in $10,000 ITF women’s event in Egypt
Ashmitha in partnership with Ekaterina Lavrikova of Russia was beaten 6-4 6-3 in the doubles quarterfinals by thefourth-seeded Katie Boulter of Britain and Justine De Sutter of Belgium in the $10,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

Jennifer Luikham in both finals in ITF juniors in Assam
GUWAHATI, NOV. 21:

Jennifer Luikham was at her fluent best as she made the girls singles and
doubles final of the ITF grade-5 junior tennis tournament here on
Thursday.

The 14-year-old Jennifer came from behind to topple the second seed
Snehal Mane 4-6, 6-2, 6-1. The trainee of coach Aditya Sachdeva will
challenge the fourth-seeded Yinglak Jittakoat of Thailand in the
final.

In doubles, Jennifer and Mansi Reddy will face the top-seeded Snehal
Mane and Vanshika Sawhney in the final.

In the boys section, it was all foreign affair, except for Delhi lad
Deepak Vishavkarma making the doubles final in partnership with Lev
Kazakov of Russia. The Indo-Russian duo ousted the top-seeded
Nishangan Nadaraja of Sri Lanka and Alexey Prokopchuk of Ukraine.

The results (semifinals):

Boys: Alexey Prokopchuk (Ukr) bt Chak Pong Marco Lam (Hkg) 6-4, 6-4;

Lev Kazakov (Rus) bt Parikshit Somani 6-0, 6-3.

Doubles: Lev Kazakov (Rus) and Deepak Vishavkarma bt Nishangan
Nadaraja (Sri) and Alexey Prokopchuk (Ukr) 7-6(6), 6-3; Chak Pong
Marco Lam and Robin Hao Nguy (Hkg) bt Anurag Nenwani and Tanishq
Mahendru 7-6(3), 7-6(4).

Girls: Yinglak Jittakoat (Tha) bt Nandini Sharma 2-6, 6-1, 6-2;
Jennifer Luikham bt Snehal Mane 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.

Doubles: Snehal Mane and Vanshika Sawhney bt Xeniya Prokopchuk (Ukr)
and Nida Shahid Kamal 6-2, 6-0; Jennifer Luikham and Mansi Reddy
Siddareddy bt Yinglak Jittakoat (Tha) and Mihika Yadav 7-6(6), 7-6(3).




Wednesday 20 November 2013

Yuki Bhambri gets off to a tough start, but likes it



Second seeded Yuki Bhambri got off to a tough start as he tamed his
doubles partner Michael Venus of New Zealand 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the
first round of the Asia-Oceania Australian Open wild card play-off at
the Luohu Tennis Centre, Shenzen, China, on Wednesday.

After losing the first set in a hurry, the 204th ranked Yuki broke his
opponent twice each in the next two sets to cruise through to the
quarterfinals.

‘’It was one of the best matches that I have played this year.
Hopefully, I will be able to keep up my level of play’’, observed
Yuki, when contacted by The Hindu.

‘’It is tough to play someone like Michael because he has a big game.
He hits his forehand very hard and has a good serve. Once the match
progressed, I got used to the pace and was able to move him around. I
was able to take charge of the rallies, and put pressure on his
serves’’, said Yuki.

The 21-year-old Yuki will await the winner of the match between
qualifier Zhicheng Zhu and wild card Miao-Xin Gong scheduled for
Thursday.

The main contender for the Australian Open wild card, top-seeded Jimmy
Wang of Chiense Taipei outplayed Ouyang Bowen of China 6-4, 6-1 to set
up a quarterfinal against compatriot Zhao Cai.

Meanwhile, Ankita Raina bowed out in the women’s first round after
finding the rhythm in the second set. The best-ranked Indian woman on
the WTA computer at 293, the 20-year-old Ankita was beaten 6-2, 2-6,
6-1 by the 18-year-old wild card Zhaoxuan Yang of  China who had won
her maiden ITF women’s title in Delhi two years back.

‘’It was really a good chance that I missed’’, rued Ankita who was
unable settle into her best rhythm in the match that was marred by
rain interruptions.

Wild card Prarthana Thombare had no answers as she was outplayed 6-1,
6-0 by Chin-Wei Chan of Chinese Taipei.

In the doubles final qualifying round, after a bye, Ankita Raina and
Prarthana Thombare were overwhelmed 6-0, 6-3 by the fourth-seeded
Qiuyu Ye and Wushuang Zheng of China.

Vishnu Vardhan finds his good game

BHOPAL, NOV. 20:
Olympian Vishnu Vardhan was in fine form as he outplayed Jui-Chen Hung
of Chinese Taipei 6-2, 6-3 in the pre-quarterfinals of the $15,000 ITF
men’s Futures tennis tournament at the Arera Club courts here on
Wednesday.

In the quarterfinals, Vishnu will challenge the second-seeded Sriram
Balaji who got past qualifier Jannis Liniger of Switzerland in
straight sets. The two had fought for more than three hours before
Balaji prevailed in the semifinals last week in Delhi.

Top seed Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and the national grasscourt champion R.
Ramkumar set up another quarterfinal encounter in contrasting style,
while Karunuday Singh and Vijay Sundar Prashanth set up another
all-Indian encounter.

Newly crowned national hardcourt champion Mohit Mayur went down to the
third-seeded Na Jung-Woong. The Korean will meet qualifier David Pel
of the Netherlands in the quarterfinals.

The results:

Singles (pre-quarterfinals): Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan bt Shaikh Abdullah

6-3, 6-2; R. Ramkumar bt Markos Kalovelonis (Gre) 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-2; Na
Jung-Woong (Kor) bt Mohit Mayur 6-2, 7-6(4); David Pel (Ned) bt
Daniiar Duldaev (Kgz) 6-4, 6-4; Karunuday Singh bt Jatin Dahiya 6-4,
6-4; Vijay Sundar Prashanth bt Akash Wagh 6-7(2), 6-1, 6-3; Vishnu
Vardhan bt Jui-Chen Hung (Tpe) 6-2, 6-3; Sriram Balaji bt Jannis
Liniger (Sui) 7-5, 6-3.

Doubles (quarterfinals): Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Purav Raja bt Mohit
Mayur and Arjun Kadhe 6-2, 6-2; R. Ramkumar and Ashwin Vijayragavan bt
Timon Reichelt and Torsten Wietoska (Ger) 6-2, 6-2; Daniiar Duldaev
(Kgz) and Karunuday Singh bt Kunal Anand and Aaditya Tewari 6-3, 6-3;
Sriram Balaji and V. M. Ranjeet bt Chandril Sood and Lakshit Sood
7-6(2), 7-5.

Ashmitha Easwaramurthi loses first round in $10,000 ITF women’s tournament in Egypt

Ashmitha Easwaramurthi was beaten 6-4, 7-5 by Giorgia Pinto of Italy in the first round of the $10,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. She, however, made the doubles quarterfinals with Ekaterina Lavrikvoa of Russia.

The other Indian girl in the fray, Vishesh Vishnu was beaten 6-1, 6-2 by Manisha Foster of Britain.

In the qualifying event, Shivani Manchanda was beaten 6-2, 6-2 by Veronika Stotyka of Ukraine.

The results:

Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Elena-Teodora Cadar (Rou) and Jasmin Steinherr (Ger) bt Gabriela Horackova (Cze) and Tanisha Rohira 6-2, 6-2; Ashmitha Easwaramurthi and Ekaterina Lavrikova (Rus) bt Giada Clerici and Giulia Guidetti (Ita) 6-4, 6-1; Iryna Shymanovich (Blr) and Julia Wachaczyk (Ger) bt Polina Chala (Ukr) and Shivani Manchanda 6-0, 6-0.

Nandini Sharma knocks out top seed Vanshika Sawhney in girls quarterfinals in ITF juniors in Assam

Nandini Sharma knocked out the top-seeded Vanshika Sawhney 7-5, 2-6,
7-5 in the girls quarterfinals of the ITF grade-5 junior tennis
tournament in Guwahati, Assam, on Wednesday.

While Nandini will face the fourth-seeded Yinglak Jittakoat of
Thailand, second-seeded Snehal Mane set up a semifinal against
Jennifer Luikham.

In the boys section, Parikshit Somani was the lone Indian in the
semifinals and will face Lev Kazakov of Russia. The other semifinal
will feature top seed Alexey Prokopchuk of Ukraine against third seed
Chak Pong Marco Lam of Hong Kong.

The results:

Boys (Quarterfinals)
Alexey PROKOPCHUK (UKR) [1] bt Varis YAGUDIN (RUS) 6-3 6-4     
Chak Pong Marco LAM (HKG) [3] bt Mayukh RAWAT  6-0 6-1     
Parikshit SOMANI  bt Robin Hao NGUY (HKG) [4] 5-4 Retired 
Lev KAZAKOV (RUS) bt Deepak VISHAVKARMA  6-2 6-0     

Pre-quarterfinals
Alexey PROKOPCHUK (UKR) [1] bt Udayan BHAKAR  7-6(11) 5-7 6-4
Varis YAGUDIN (RUS) bt Balaji LAKSHMANAN  6-4 7-5     
Chak Pong Marco LAM (HKG) [3] bt Mahendru TANISHQ  6-2 6-3     
Mayukh RAWAT  bt Nishangan NADARAJA (SRI) [5] 6-1 6-3     
Parikshit SOMANI  bt Abhimanyu DAKWALE  7-5 6-4     
Robin Hao NGUY (HKG) [4] bt Dhruv PAL  6-1 6-4
Deepak VISHAVKARMA  bt Pavel PETROV (KAZ) [8] 5-7 6-3 6-3

First round
Alexey PROKOPCHUK (UKR) [1]  bt Raag SHAH  6-1 6-1
Varis YAGUDIN (RUS) bt Sultan Singh ATWAL  6-2 6-0     
Chak Pong Marco LAM (HKG) [3] bt Anurag NENWANI  6-0 6-3     
Mahendru TANISHQ  bt Mohit JAIN  7-5 6-2     
Mayukh RAWAT  bt Vasudev VIJAYARAMAN  6-4 6-4     
Abhimanyu DAKWALE  bt Sachin KUMAR  [7] 6-3 4-6 6-2
Dhruv PAL  bt  Taha KAPADIA  7-5 7-6(4)
Robin Hao NGUY (HKG) [4] bt Gokul SURESH  3-6 6-1 6-0
Pavel PETROV (KAZ) [8] bt Rohan GOGOI  6-2 6-1
Deepak VISHAVKARMA  bt Ankeet KASHYAP  6-3 6-2     
Lev KAZAKOV (RUS) bt  Amlanjyoti BARUAH  6-1 6-1

Qualifying event (second and final round):
Taha KAPADIA  [1] bt Yash YADAV  6-0 6-7(5) 6-3     
Abhimanyu DAKWALE  bt Amarnath ARORA  7-5 6-3     
Siddharth CHOUDHURY  bt Jugal BORUAH  4-6 6-4 6-4

First round
Taha KAPADIA  [1]     BYE   
Yash YADAV  bt Madhav SINGHAL  6-0 6-0
Amarnath ARORA      BYE   
Raag SHAH      BYE   
Siddharth CHOUDHURY      BYE   
Jugal BORUAH  bt Kartikeya SHARMA  2-6 6-1 6-1

Girls (Quarterfinals)
Nandini SHARMA  bt Vanshika SAWHNEY  [1] 7-5 2-6 7-5
Yinglak JITTAKOAT (THA) [4] bt  Eeshita PANDE  6-2 6-2
Jennifer LUIKHAM  bt Xeniya PROKOPCHUK (UKR) [3] 7-5 7-5
Snehal MANE  [2] bt Ainur SULEIMENOVA (KAZ) 6-1 6-4

Pre-quarterfinals
Yinglak JITTAKOAT (THA) [4] bt Ananya MAHAPATRA  6-2 6-4
Eeshita PANDE  bt Sharlee DESHMUKH  [6] 6-1 6-1
Jennifer LUIKHAM  bt Mihika YADAV  [5] 6-3 5-7 7-5
Xeniya PROKOPCHUK (UKR) [3] bt Nupur UMASHANKAR  6-3 6-1
Ainur SULEIMENOVA (KAZ) bt Nairuti VYAS  6-0 6-0
Snehal MANE  [2] bt  MEENAL MAHARWAL  6-0 6-2

First round
Vanshika SAWHNEY  [1]     BYE   
Nandini SHARMA  bt Nida SHAHID KAMAL  [8] 2-6 6-0 6-0     
Yinglak JITTAKOAT (THA) [4] bt Simran WADHWA  6-2 6-1     
Ananya MAHAPATRA  bt Moulika RAM  6-2 6-3     
Eeshita PANDE  bt Muskaan RANJAN  6-1 6-1     
Mihika YADAV  [5] bt Sneha PADAMATA  7-5 7-6(4)
Xeniya PROKOPCHUK (UKR) [3] bt Rashmitha Reddy PASULA  6-3 6-0
Ainur SULEIMENOVA (KAZ) bt Rajshree RATHOD  [7] 6-1 6-3     
Snehal MANE  [2] bt Niditra RAJMOHAN  6-2 6-2

Qualifying event (first and final round)
Shamika DHAR      BYE   
Ananya MAHAPATRA      BYE   
Priyam KUMARI      BYE   

Doubles (Quarterfinals)
Snehal MANE  / Vanshika SAWHNEY  [1] bt Kanishka N CHAWLA  / Simran WADHWA  6-0 6-0     
Yinglak JITTAKOAT (THA) / Mihika YADAV  [2] bt  Eeshita PANDE  / Nupur UMASHANKAR  6-3 6-0

Pre-quarterfinals
Snehal MANE  / Vanshika SAWHNEY  [1]     BYE   
Xeniya PROKOPCHUK (UKR) / Nida SHAHID KAMAL  [3]     BYE   
Yinglak JITTAKOAT (THA) / Mihika YADAV  [2]     BYE   


ITF juniors, Rajshahi, Bangladesh

NikithaTirdala failed to capitalise on a good start and went down in three sets to Rukshika Wijesooriya of Sri Lanka 7-6(5), 2-6, 1-6 in the girls first round of the ITF grade-5 junior tennis tournament in Rajshahi, Bangladesh.

Some of the Indian juniors opted to compete in Bangladesh to the one at home in Guwahati, Assam.

The results

Boys (first round):
SHAMAEL CHAUDHRY (GBR) [1]     BYE   
Cheng-Shan KUO (TPE) bt Zu Zinyang TAN (MAS) 6-4 7-5     
Md RUMON (BAN)     BYE   
S D Prajwal DEV  [13]     BYE   
Vladimir GNILOZUBOV (KAZ) [11]     BYE   
Tin-Yu WANG (TPE) bt Shariful Islam TINKU (BAN) 6-2 6-3     
Cheuk Yin YUEN (HKG) bt Delowar HOSSAIN (BAN) 6-4 6-2     
Paramveer Singh BAJWA  [7]     BYE   
Zhansultan CHEMBOTAYEV (KAZ) [4]     BYE   
Christian CUMMINGS  bt Md. Kawsar ALI (BAN) 6-3 6-3     
Richie AGARWAL  bt Muhammadmustafo ABDURAKHMONOV (UZB) ) 6-1 6-3     
Mohammad Jamil BHUIYAN (BAN) [14]     BYE   
Tin CHEN (TPE) [10]     BYE   
Nuttakit VEERATHAMMASORN (THA)     Walkover    Saleem SHADMAN (BAN)
Marius PAKSTYS (LTU) bt Adam HOBBS (CAN) 6-2 6-3     
Alex SOLANKI  [8]     BYE   
Sahil GAWARE  [5]     BYE   
Yang LIU (TPE) bt Md. Jumman Hossain JONY (BAN) 6-2 6-3     
Nihit RAWAL  bt Mohammad Mahin REJA KHAN (BAN) 6-2 6-0     
Adi KALIAKPEROV (KAZ) [9]     BYE   
Sultan KENES (KAZ) [16]     BYE   
Saitejas MOPURI  bt Saulius PAKSTYS (LTU) 6-4 6-1     
John Paul AVILA (MEX) bt Md. Asik KHAN (BAN) 6-0 6-1     
Kareem ALLAF (SYR) [3]     BYE   
Shao-Min KO (TPE) [6]     BYE   
Jerome ROMUALDEZ (PHI) bt Tahmid Raqeeb AUTUL (BAN) 6-0 6-1     
Wai Leuk Alan LEE (HKG) bt Run Jia FANG (CHN) 6-3 3-6 6-4     
Vishu PRASAD  [12]     BYE   
Sree Biplob RAM (BAN) [15]     BYE   
Aditya Anant GOKHALE  bt Nyles MOISSON (CAN) 6-1 6-2     
Mamun BAPARI (BAN) bt Yuvraj BAINS  6-3 6-2     
Bolat MAMYR (KAZ) [2]     BYE   

Qualifying event (second and final round):
Yang LIU (TPE)        
Adam HOBBS (CAN)        
Saitejas MOPURI         
Nihit RAWAL         
Marius PAKSTYS (LTU)        
Aditya Anant GOKHALE  bt  Nyles MOISSON (CAN) 6-4 6-1     

First round
Yang LIU (TPE)     BYE   
Adam HOBBS (CAN)     BYE   
Saitejas MOPURI      BYE   
Nihit RAWAL      BYE   
Marius PAKSTYS (LTU)     BYE   
Aditya Anant GOKHALE      BYE   
Nyles MOISSON (CAN)     BYE   

Doubles (first round):
Kareem ALLAF (SYR) / SHAMAEL CHAUDHRY (GBR) [1]     BYE   
Aditya Anant GOKHALE  / Saitejas MOPURI      BYE   
John Paul AVILA (MEX) / Sree Biplob RAM (BAN) [8]     BYE   
Paramveer Singh BAJWA  / Alex SOLANKI  [3]     BYE   
Vladimir GNILOZUBOV (KAZ) / Sultan KENES (KAZ) [7]     BYE   
Richie AGARWAL  / Sahil GAWARE  [5]     BYE   
Tin CHEN (TPE) / Shao-Min KO (TPE) [4]     BYE   
S D Prajwal DEV  / Vishu PRASAD  [6]     BYE   
Mamun BAPARI (BAN) / Delowar HOSSAIN (BAN)     BYE   
Zhansultan CHEMBOTAYEV (KAZ) / Bolat MAMYR (KAZ) [2]     BYE   

Girls (first round):
Sarvinoz SAIDHUJAEVA (UZB) [1]     BYE   
Afrana Islam PRITY (BAN) bt Alina LAZAREVA (KGZ) 7-6(2) 7-5     
Sri Sai Shivani K.  bt  Ayesha SULTANA (BAN) 6-1 6-2     
Han-Chi CHEN (TPE) [6]     BYE   
Melisa BEKIROVA (UZB) [4]     BYE   
shivani MANJANNA  bt Towfa Akther BONNA (BAN) 6-0 6-0     
Apekshita ALKESH  bt  Mumitu Jannau MOU (BAN) 3-0 Retired    
Luciana RABINES (USA) [5]     BYE   
Nancy FAWZY (EGY) bt Kristina TEN (UZB) [8] 6-2 6-0     
Angella RAMAN  bt Islam NADIA (BAN) 6-0 6-0     
Chaithali ADINATH NARDE  bt Bapari PINKY (BAN) 6-4 6-2     
Komola UMAROVA (UZB) [3]     BYE   
Sabina SMIRNOVA (UZB) [7]     BYE   
Rukshika WIJESOORIYA (SRI) bt Nikitha TIRDALA  6-7(5) 6-2 6-1     
Yang LEE (TPE) bt Jhilik CHAKMA (BAN) 6-0 6-1     
Angeline Devi DEVANTHIRAN (SIN) [2]     BYE   

Doubles (first round)
Sarvinoz SAIDHUJAEVA (UZB) / Komola UMAROVA (UZB) [1]     BYE   
Angeline Devi DEVANTHIRAN (SIN) / Angella RAMAN  [3]     BYE   
Nancy FAWZY (EGY) / Kristina TEN (UZB) [4]     BYE   
Melisa BEKIROVA (UZB) / Luciana RABINES (USA) [2]     BYE