Another bright week ahead for Indian tennis

Somdev Devvarman may have jumped one place to be ranked 97^th in the world ranking, but he has given another bright start for Indian tennis this week, by qualifying for the main draw of the China Open.

The 28-year-old Somdev beat two players ranked better than him, the 62nd ranked Robin Haase of the Netherlands and the 85^th ranked Paolo Lorenzi of Italy, to make the main event. He will be up against the 31^st ranked Fernando Verdasco of Spain in the first round.

The other leading players of the country, Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza will also be in action in the China Open.

In fact, Sania in partnership with Cara Black overcame a tricky second set to beat Kimiko Date-Krumm of Japan and Channelle Scheepers of South Africa 6-3, 6-3 in the first round. 

Quite interestingly, the team that had lost to Sania and partner in the final in Tokyo on Saturday, Hao-Ching Chan of Chinese Taipei and Liezel Huber of the US, recovered from being down 6-7(3), 1-4, survived two matchpoints in the super tie-break to beat the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, 6-7(3), 6-4, 11-9.

In the lower rungs, Prajnesh Gunneswaran failed to win a game in the final of the $10,000 ITF men’s Futures tennis tournament in Egypt. A shocker for the talented left-hander from Chennai, but it has been a good season for him in which he has already won two singles titles and looks good for more.

A lot of Indian players, men and women, may continue to seek ranking points in Egypt which has already conducted 27 Futures for men and 37 women’s tournaments this year.

Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and company will continue to seek their fortune in Rwanda in Africa. Some others will be in action in Kuwait and Spain.

The Indian under-16 boys team beat Bolivia and finished 11^th among the top 16 teams of the world. The seventh-seeded Spain clinched the title and that could be some consolation for Garvit Batra, Sumit Nagal and Sahil Deshmukh as they had put up a splendid fight against Spain in the league.

Garvit had lost in three sets, while Sumit and Sahil lost the doubles in three sets. Sumit had lost the singles 5-7, 4-6 in the duel between the No.1 players. Of course, the boys need to work much more and scientifically to make progress in their career.

Somdev Devvarman qualifies for the China Open, faces Fernando Verdasco

BEIJING, SEPT. 29:

The 97^th ranked Somdev Devvarman fought his way past Paolo Lorenzi of Italy 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-3 in the second and final qualifying round of the $3,566,050 China Open ATP Tour event on Sunday.

He was scheduled to face the 31^st ranked Fernando Verdasco of Spain in the first round.

In the $1,437,800 Japan Open in Tokyo, Rohan Bopanna has been seeded fourth with Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France, and drawn to play Juan Monaco and Horacio Zeballos of Argentina in the first round.

Prajnesh Gunneswaran fails to win a game in the final

SHARM EL SHEIKH (EGYPT), SEPT. 29:

The eighth-seeded Prajnesh Gunneswaran was blanked 6-0, 6-0 by the second-seeded Enrique-Lopez Perez of Spain in the final of the $10,000 ITF men’s Futures tennis tournament on Sunday.

The 22-year-old Spaniard had dropped only two games in all in the first two matches and only one game in the first set in all of his five matches. It was his third title of the season, and fifth of his career.

Indian boys place 11^th in Junior Davis Cup

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 30:

Indian boys beat Bolivia 2-0 and placed 11^th in the Junior Davis Cup World Group under-16 tennis competition in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, on Sunday.

The seventh-seeded Spain which had figured in group ‘A’ with India, and had perspired to beat it, won the title beating the second-seeded Korea 2-1.

The final placings: 1. Spain, 2. Korea, 3. Australia, 4. Germany, 5. Russia, 6. US, 7. Japan, 8. France, 9. Norway, 10. South Africa, 11. India, 12. Bolivia, 13. Argentina, 14. Peru, 15. Netherlands and 16. Mexico.

The results (final): Spain bt Korea 2-1 (pedro Martinez Portero bt Kukeon Kang 7-6(6), 6-3; Jaume Antoni Munar clar lost to Seongchan Hong 1-6, 6-3, 2-6; Pedro Martinez Portero and Jaume Antoni Munar Clar bt Kukeon Kang and Yun seong Chung 6-3, 7-5).

11^th place: India bt Bolivia 2-0 (Garvit Batra bt Daniel Arrien 6-3, 6-2; Sumit Nagal bt Stephan Koenigsfest 7-6(4), 6-3).

A photo may be worth a thousand words . . .

It is not enough to put a photo of Sania Mirza when she wins one of the biggest doubles titles of her career. And that too such a small photo, though it was grudgingly on par with Petra Kvitova, Novak Djokovic and Li Na.

It was as dramatic as it could get for Sania Mirza and Cara Black in Tokyo as they fought back from being two matchpoints down at 7-9 in the super tie-break to reel off four points in a row in the final.

Most of the newspapers missed this key point when so much was at stake, perhaps because my friend Amanpreet Singh in the Press Trust of India (PTI), the tennis expert, was busy at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida, covering the JK tyre racing events !

When you make a report from scores, it is not easy to capture the essence, with mere service breaks and statistics. No matter what, a good report is essential, when there is 'live' television coverage or not.

It was a pity that the ‘live’ coverage of the $2.3 million dollar tennis event was over once Petra Kvitova won the singles final. Television coverage can be very technical and flexibility to show a particular match may not be easy. But, what stops the newspapers from giving good coverage, nothing, except prejudice.

The readers have perhaps long stopped their demand for news. Nobody writes anymore, moaning the lack of balance. Maybe, the definition of news has changed. Make no mistake, Sania Mirza is one of the finest Indian sports woman ever. Also, she is the most successful professional woman player, by a mile as compared to the rest.

She has no complaints. She has had her long spells of attention. She is happy to stay healthy and keep winning. Each of those of matchpoints were worth about $56,000. Sania has developed nerves of steel, as she crossed yet another milestone in her career, the $3 million mark in prize money.

At a time when Indian women’s tennis is struggling to break into the top-300, as compared to a career-best No.27 that Sania had reached in singles, it may be important to present more of Sania’s success in the media to inspire the next generation. Instead, we may be tempted to devote full pages, searching for the next Sania!

Of course, we really had to search for the one and only Sania this week, as the media was absolutely indifferent to her fine run till she clinched the title.

Maybe, the collective wisdom of the media says that Sania has already made the game very expensive in the country, unwittingly though, with all her success. Coaching fee has increased but not the coaching standards.

Well, the argument could be, when onion and petrol can have such a high price, why not tennis that is fast becoming an elite sport.

Sania Mirza wins another big title

TOKYO, SEPT. 28:

Sania Mirza and Cara Black saved two matchpoints to beat Hao-Ching Chan of Chinese Taipei and Liezel Huber of the US 4-6, 6-0, 11-9 in the doubles final of the $2,369,000 Toray Pan Pacific Open WTA tennis tournament on Saturday.

The title was worth 900 WTA points and $122,000. It was a commendable fare from Sania and Cara, as they turned the match around from 7-9 in the super tie-break with four points in a row. The Taipei-American combination was up 5-2 before the Indo-Zimbabwean pair caught up to be on par at 7-7. The match lasted an hour and 26 minutes.

It was the fourth doubles title of the season and 18^th in her career for the 26-year-old Sania, who in the process broke the $3 million mark in prize money. For the more accomplished Cara, with 10 Grand Slam doubles and mixed doubles titles to her credit, collected her 56^th career doubles title.

The runner-up team collected 620 WTA points and $66,200.

Somdev Devvarman in final qualifying round in China

BEIJING,  SEPT. 28:

Somdev Devvarman beat the second-seeded Robin Haase of the Netherlands 2-6, 6-4, 6-0 in the first qualifying round of the $3,566,050 China Open on Saturday.

The 98^th ranked Somdev who had lost the doubles semifinals last week in Kuala Lumpur was pitted against Paolo Lorenzi of Italy in the second and final qualifying round. The Italian had beaten the Spanish fifth seed Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain.

The tournament will also witness Leander Paes as the top seed with Daniel Nestor of Canada and Mahesh Bhupathi as the second seed with Robert Lindstedt of Sweden. Mahesh and partner will be up against Serb Novak Djokovic and Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka in the first round.

Rishika Sunkara loses semifinals in Egypt

SHARM EL SHEIKH (EGYPT), SEPT. 28:

Rishika Sunkara failed to live up to her status as the No.1 seed as she lost 2-6, 6-1, 4-6 to the third-seeded Giulia Bruzzone of Italy in the semifinals of the $10,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament on Saturday.

It was the fifth semifinal this season for the 20-year-old Rishika, who had won a tournament in Delhi at this level last year.

Prajnesh Gunneswaran makes final in Egypt

SHARM EL SHEIKH (EGYPT), SEPT. 28:

The eighth-seeded Prajnesh Gunneswaran defeated Karim-Mohamed Maamoun of Egypt 7-6(5), 6-3 in the semifinals of the $10,000 ITF men’s Futures tennis tournament on Saturday.

The 23-year-old Chennai lad had retired against the same opponent after one game in the third set in the quarterfinals of a similar tournament at the same venue, owing to a bout of cramps.

In the final, Prajnesh was scheduled to play the second-seeded Enrique Lopez-Perez of Spain. The Chennai left-hander will be looking for his third singles title of the season following the ones in Chennai and Aarhus, Denmark.

India to fight for the 11^th spot in Junior Davis Cup

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 28:

The Indian boys were beaten 2-0 by Norway in a positional play-off match for the 9^th to 12^thplaces in the Junior Davis Cup World Group under-16 tennis competition in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, on Friday.

India will play Bolivia, which lost to South Africa 1-2, in the match for the 11^th place.

Meanwhile, seventh seeded-Spain was pitted against third-seeded Germany and sixth-seeded Australia was up against the second-seeded Korea in the semifinals.

The results: Positional play-off 9-12: Norway bt India 2-0 (Casper Ruud bt Sahil Deshmukh 6-4, 4-6, 6-4; Viktor Durasovic bt Sumit Nagal 6-2, 6-4).

Beyond a point, it does not matter to the champions what is in the media

Sania Mirza has quietly made the doubles final in $2,369,000  Toray Pan Pacific Open on Tokyo, without the Indian media making much note of it.

The US Open semifinalist, partnering Cara Black, one of the finest doubles players in the women’s circuit, may perhaps be tested by her former mentor and partner, Liezel Huber, but the edge will be with Sania and Cara.

It may be easy to say that Sania should find a good partner and stick to her for more profitable ventures in the circuit, but she knows the issues better on a daily basis, and tries to capitalise on the opportunities.

After Nirupama Sanjeev, our former women’s champion who has written a brilliant book, ‘The Moonballer’, that should serve as a guide to every aspiring woman tennis player in the country, had commended the blog for a comprehensive coverage of Indian tennis news, I realised the mistake only when my knowledgeable colleague pointed out that Sania was actually playing well in Japan where his heroine Venus Williams was hogging all the attention. How did I miss Sania, of all people ! Well, blame it on the indifferent media.

CGK Bhupathi, father of Mahesh Bhupathi, had asked me to write for the tournament souvenir of one of the early WTA events in the country, ‘’on your favourite subject Sania’’, when the young girl was threatening to break into the big league.

Well, I had left the stars like Sania, Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi, Somdev Devvarman and Rohan Bopanna for the agencies to take care, and was concentrating on the relatively lesser lights who were trying to make the breakthrough, even at the junior level. However, when you want to follow the game fully in the country, you do it thoroughly, and am indeed happy to keep track of our stars, even when they are not playing the Grand Slams !

Of course, when one first set eyes on them, Leander, Sania and company were all juniors who broke through spectacularly into the big league as they had the right foundation and a great attitude. It is good to look at them all over again, even as you keep searching for the spark and the unflinching attitude in the others who are slogging it around the world, with fire in the belly and stars in their eyes !

Sania Mirza at her professional best in Tokyo

TOKYO, SEPT. 27:

Sania Mirza and Cara Black, two of the finest doubles players, without a seeding raced to the final with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over the Wimbledon champions Su-Wei Hsieh of Chinese Taipei and Shuai Peng of China in the semifinals of the $2,369,000 Toray Pan Pacific Open in Japan on Friday.

In the final, Sania and Cara were scheduled to face another unseeded pair of Hao-Ching Chan of Chinese Taipei and Liezel Huber of the US. Sania will be looking for her fourth title of the season, and 18^th of her career, and Cara, her 56^th title.

The Indo-Zimbabwean combination, with 12 Grand Slam doubles and mixed doubles titles between them, had earlier beaten the fourth-seeded Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany and Kveta Peschke of the Czech Republic 7-5, 6-3 in the quarterfinals.

The start was rough, but Sania and Cara had prevailed 2-6, 6-0, 10-7 against Kristina Mladenovic of france and Flavia Pennetta of Italy in the first round.

The winner will get 900 WTA points and $122,000 and the runner-up $66,200 and 620 WTA points.

Leander Paes bows out in the semifinals in Bangkok

BANGKOK, SEPT. 27:

The second-seeded Leander Paes and Daniele Bracciali of Italy were beaten 6-3, 6-4 by the third-seeded Jamie Murray of Britain and John Peers of Australia in the doubles semifinals of the $567,530 Thailand Open ATP Tour event on Friday.

After the US Open triumph, it was an early exit for Leander, playing with a new partner, but the champion focuses on the big events, and will be getting ready for the year-end World Doubles Championship.

The effort was worth 90 ATP points and $8,870.

Somdev Devvarman bows out in the semifinals in Kuala Lumpur

KUALA LUMPUR, SEPT. 27:

The fine run of Somdev Devvarman and Rik De Voest of South Africa came to an end as Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay and Horacio Zeballos of Argentina beat them 0-6, 6-2, 10-7 in the doubles semifinals of the $984,300 Malaysian Open on Friday.

After such a good start and victory against the second seeds, it was a disappointment, but the super tie-break has always been a lottery, that can reward as much as it can punish.

The 90 ATP doubles ranking points may not be of much interest to Somdev, ranked 98 in singles, but his share from $13,570 should be handy.

Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan loses singles semifinals, wins doubles title

BUJUMBURA (BURUNDI), SEPT. 27:

The second-seeded Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan lost the semifinals 6-7(3), 6-7(5) to the fourth-seeded Lukas Jastraung of Austria in the $15,000 ITF men’s Futures tennis tournament on Friday.

However, seeded No.2 in doubles with Yannick Mertens of Belgium, Jeevan won the doubles title with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Mark Fynn of Zimbabwe and Hassan Ndayishimye of Burundi.

It was Jeevan’s eighth career doubles title and fourth this season.

Ramkumar loses doubles final

SEVILLA, SEPT. 27:

The second-seeded R. Ramkumar and Matwe Middelkoop of the Netherlands were beaten 6-2, 6-3 in the doubles final by the fourth-seeded Eduard Esteve Lobato and Oriol Roca Batalla of Spain on Friday.

Ankita Raina loses quarterfinals in $25K event

FERGANA (UZBEKISTAN), SEPT. 27:

The eighth-seeded Ankita Raina was beaten 6-1, 6-3 by Anastasiya Vasyleva of Ukraine in the quarterfinals of the $25,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament on Friday.

Incidentally, it was the third successive quarterfinal appearance in the $25K events for the 20-year-old Ankita, who had made the two other quarterfinals in back to back events in Belgium in August.

She had lost in the semifinals of the $10,000 event in New Delhi to the eventual champion Bhuvana Kalva and was not at her physical best while losing the first round in China in a $50,000 tournament. Ankita has planned to train for a few weeks before returning to the circuit with renewed energy and zeal.

Rishika Sunkara in semifinals in Egypt

SHARM EL SHEIKH (EGYPT), SEPT. 27:

The top-seeded Rishika Sunkara beat qualifier Viktoriya Bogoslovskaya of Russia 7-6(2), 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the $10,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament on Friday.

In the semifinals, Rishika who entered the tournament on a wild card, will play the third-seeded Giulia Bruzzone of Italy.

In the doubles semifinals, however, the top-seeded Rishika and Ipek Soylu of Turkey were beaten 3-6, 7-5, 10-6 by Viktoriya Bogoslovskaya and Evgeniya Svintsova of Russia.

Prajnesh Gunneswaran in semifinals

SHARM EL SHEIKH (EGYPT), SEPT. 27:

The eighth-seeded Prajnesh Gunneswaran led 6-1, 3-0 when his opponent the fourth-seeded Ivan Nedelko of Russia retired in the quarterfinals of the $10,000 ITF men’s Futures tennis tournament on Friday.

In the semifinals, Prajnesh will Karim-Mohamed Maamoun of Egypt.

Indian boys beat Argentina in Junior Davis Cup

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 27:

Sumit Nagal won both his singles and doubles matches to help India
beat Argentina 2-1 in the third and last league match of group ‘A’ in
the Junior Davis Cup World Group under-16 tennis competition in San
Luis Potosi, Mexico, on Thursday.

Having lost to the top-seeded Russia and the seventh-seeded Spain
earlier, India missed the bus to fight for better positions, and was
reduced to competing for the ninth to 12th places in the 16-team
competition.

India was scheduled to face Norway in the first play-off.

The results (league): India bt Argentina 2-1 (Garvit Batra lost to
Franco Capalbo 4-6, 4-6; Sumit Nagal bt Agustin Torreano 6-4, 6-3;
Sahil Deshmukh and Sumit Nagal bt Juan Pablo Ficiovich and Agustin
Torreano 4-6, 6-3, 6-0).

If you put your mind on the job, you can beat the best

The tennis players go through a tough grind and it takes a heavy toll on their physical reserves. It takes a lot to recover and play to strength from one match to another. Doubles can thus add to the demands.

However, if you have lost in the singles and do not have an early flight to catch to the qualifying event for the next tournament, you can have a nice time, enjoying the doubles and the added incentives that come with it.

Somdev Devvarman showed that he was enjoying the doubles as he made the semifinals in Kuala Lumpur with Rik De Voest of South Africa, beating the second seeds, a fine combination of Julien Benneteau of France and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia.

Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan, the talented left-hander from Chennai is playing well in Africa, by reaching the semifinals. Ankita Raina made light of the challenge to make the quarterfinals of the $25,000 women's tournament in Uzbekistan. Rishika Sunkara has had a cake walk so far in Egypt in the $10K event.

The under-16 players Sumit Nagal, Garvit Batra and Sahil Deshmukh disappointed a bit as they lost to the seeded teams, Russia and Spain. It should make them realise the magnitude of work ahead of them to make a mark in the professional circuit.

Somdev Devvarman in doubles semifinals

KUALA LUMPUR, SEPT. 26:

Somdev Devvarman in partnership with Rik De Voest of South Africa knocked out the second-seeded Julien Benneteau of France and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia in the doubles quarterfinals of the $984,300 Malaysian Open ATP Tour event on Thursday.

Now, the 31-year-old Benneteau is one of the players who has been doing well in both singles and doubles. He had won two doubles titles this season with the former World No.1 Nenad Zimonjic, including the big one in Monte Carlo on clay, when the duo beat the all-conquering Bryan twins, Bob and Mike, 14-12 in the super tie-break in the final.

In the London Olympics last year, Benneteau with Richard Gasquet had won the bronze medal in doubles, beating Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna 6-3, 6-4 along the way, in the second round. Zimonjic has won two Wimbledon and a French Open doubles title to his credit.

The Asian Games doubles gold medallist Somdev, who had won the singles gold as well by beating Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan in Guangzhou in 2010, was scheduled to play the doubles semifinals with Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay and Horacio Zeballos of Argentina.

Leander Paes and Daniele Bracciali in semifinals in Bangkok

BANGKOK, SEPT. 26:

The second-seeded Leander Paes and Daniele Bracciali of Italy had to fight it out 6-7(4), 7-6(8), 10-8 against Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah of Colombia in the doubles quarterfinals of the $567,530 Thailand Open ATP Tour event on Thursday.

In the semifinals, Paes and partner were scheduled to play the third-seeded Jamie Murray of Britain and John Peers of Australia.

Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan in the semifinals in Burundi

BUJUMBURA (BURUNDI), SEPT. 26:

The second-seeded Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan defeated Mark Fynn of Zimbabwe 6-1, 5-7, 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the $15,000 ITF men’s Futures tennis tournament on Thursday.

The talented left-hander will play Lukas Jastraung of Austria, the fourth seed in the semifinals. In the other half, the top-seeded Gerald Melzer of Austria was pitted against the third-seeded Yannick Mertens of Belgium.

In the doubles semifinals, Jeevan and Yannick Mertens outplayed Alexander Lazov of Bulgaria and Jannis Linger of Switzerland 6-3, 6-0.

In the final, the second-seeded Indo-Belgian duo will play the fourth-seeded Mark Fynn of Zimbabwe and Hassan Ndayishimiye of Burundi who beat the top-seeded Lukas Jastraung and Gerald Melzer of Austria 3-6, 7-6(4), 10-7.

Ramkumar in doubles final in Spain

SEVILLA, SEPT. 26:

The second-seeded R. Ramkumar and Matwe Middelkoop of the Netherlands made the doubles final as they got a walkover from the third-seeded Jose Checa-Calvo and Juan Lizariturry of Spain in the $10,000 ITF men’s Futures tennis tournament in Spain.

In the final, the Indo-Dutch combination will face the fourth-seeded Eduard Esteve Lobato and Oriol Roca Batalla of Spain.

Ankita Raina in the quarterfinals of $25K event in Uzbekistan

FERGANA (UZBEKISTAN), SEPT. 26:

The eighth-seeded Ankita Raina cruised into the quarterfinals with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Yumi Miyazaki of Japan in the $25,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament on Thursday.

In the quarterfinals, the 21-year-old Ankita, ranked a career-best 307, was scheduled to play the third-seeded Anastasiya Vasyleva of Ukraine.

In the doubles quarterfinals, however, Ankita and Deniz Khazaniuk of Israel went down fighting 2-6, 6-4, 7-10 to the second-seeded Michaela Honcova of Slovakia and Veronika Kapshay of Ukraine.

Rishika Sunkara in quarterfinals in Egypt

SHARM EL SHEIKH (EGYPT), SEPT. 26:

The top-seeded Rishika Sunkara blanked Linda Dubska of the Czech Republic 6-0, 6-0 in the pre-quarterfinals of the $10,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament on Thursday.

Rishika, playing on a wild card in the tournament and given a bye in the first round, will play qualifier Viktoriya Bogoslovskaya of Russia in the quarterfinals.

In the doubles quarterfinals, the top-seeded Rishika and Ipek Soylu of Turkey beat Brenda Njuki of Sweden and Ashmitha Easwaramurthi 6-2, 6-2. In the semifinals, the duo was set to play Viktoriya Bogoslovskaya and Evgeniya Svintsova of Russia, who beat Anabel Ossombi of Ukraine and Shivani Manchanda 6-0, 6-1.

Prajnesh Gunneswaran in quarterfinals in Egypt

SHARM EL SHEIKH (EGYPT), SEPT. 26:

The eighth-seeded Prajnesh Gunneswaran made the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Maxxi Pongratz of Austria in the $10,000 ITF men’s Futures tennis tournament on Thursday.

In the semifinals, the 23-year-old Chennai lad will play the fourth-seeded Ivan Nedelko of Russia.

Pranjala Yadlapalli loses to second seed in Beijing

BEIJING, SEPT. 26:

Pranjala Yadlapalli was beaten 6-0, 4-6, 6-2 by the second-seeded Ziyue Sun of China in the quarterfinals of the ITF grade-2 junior tennis tournament on Thursday.

Even though the Chinese domination was on expected lines, the efforts of Pranjala, Snehadevi Reddy and Simran Kaur Sethi, would prepare them for the tougher challenges ahead.

Hopes of quarterfinals dashed for the Indian under-16 team in Junior Davis Cup

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 26:

The Indian boys were beaten 3-0 by the seventh-seeded Spain, in a
group ‘A’ league match of the Junior Davis Cup World Group competition
in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, on Wednesday.

It was the second successive defeat for the Indian boys after they
were beaten by an identical 3-0 margin, but in a more comprehensive
fashion by the top-seeded Russia.

Asian Youth Games bronze medallist Garvit Batra gave a good account of
himself but lost a tough three setter in the first match between the
No.2 players. Sumit Nagal was unable to swing the fortunes for the
team around, and the team lost the doubles as well in three sets.

With its hopes of making it to the quarterfinals dashed, India was
scheduled to play its last league match against Argentina.

The results (league): Spain bt India 3-0 (Alvaro Lopez San Martin bt
Garvit Batra 6-3, 4-6, 7-5; Jaume Antoni Munar Clar bt Sumit Nagal
7-5, 6-4; Pedro Martinez Portero and Jaume Antoni Munar Clar bt Sahil
Deshmukh and Sumit Nagal 6-3, 4-6, 6-1).

Russia bt India 3-0 (Andrey Rublev bt Garvit Batra 6-3,
6-3; Roman Safiullin bt Sumit Nagal 6-3, 6-1; Andrey Rublev and Evgeny
Tyurnev bt Sahil Deshmukh and Sumit Nagal 6-3, 6-3).

For the best, doubles is just a way to stay longer on court

The doubles has been in a bit of focus this week, especially with the country’s top two singles players Somdev Devvarman and Yuki Bhambri keeping themselves busy with it in Kuala Lumpur.

While Somdev got in as an alternate, Yuki had been given a doubles wild card. It helps the singles specialists spend more time on court, and earn some money to pay their bills.

We may have to remind ourselves that Somdev had won the doubles gold medal apart from the singles gold in the Guangzhou Asian Games in 2010. He had partnered Sanam Singh who is struggling to make the breakthrough from the Futures circuit, though he has the game to keep fighting in the Challenger circuit.

Somdev has showed the strength of character by making his way back into the top-100 of singles after a shoulder surgery that took a toll on his tennis for more than a year. Yuki has also been fighting back from injuries, but has added a trainer to his travel plans to stay fit and confident. The results are showing as he jumped 190 places to reach 287.

The doubles is only an occasional distraction for these two players, as they are determined to occupy the full court for a long time.

The new team in the big league, Divij Sharan and Purav Raja have done very well this season. They know that it is relatively easy to reach the top  than to stay there. They have been playing plenty of tournaments this season, and perhaps need to train better and invest in some expertise. They are ready to tease the best teams in the rest of the season, though the results in the last couple of tournaments may have been teasing them.

Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan has gone back to Africa in search of gold. He has chalked a fine plan to make the jump in the rankings, and get into the more profitable but exacting Challenger circuit. Jeevan had won the Asian junior doubles title twice with Sanam Singh, but the 329^th ranked Chennai lad is determined to break into the top 200.

Ankita Raina is keeping the Indian women’s tennis in focus with her efforts. She hopes to keep busy in Uzbekistan this week.

Somdev Devvarman has a fruitful time in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, SEPT. 25:

Asian Games double gold medallist in partnership with Rick De Voest of South Africa broke little sweat in beating Pablo Andujar of Spain and Victor Hansecu of Romania 6-3, 6-2 in the doubles pre-quarterfinals of the $984,300 Malaysian Open ATP Tour event on Wednesday.

Coming in place of Nikolay Davydenko and Dmitry Tursunov of Russia, as alternates, the Indo-South African combination has capitalised on the chance in setting up a quarterfinal clash against the second-seeded Julien Benneteau of France and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia.

In the process, Somdev also ensured 45 ATP doubles points and $7830 for the team.

Leander Paes in quarterfinals in Thailand Open

BANGKOK, SEPT. 25:

The second-seeded Leander Paes and Daniele Bracciali of Italy quelled a spirited challenge from James Cerretani of the US and Adil Shamasdin of Canada 7-5, 7-6(4) in the doubles pre-quarterfinals of the $567,330 Thailand Open on Wednesday.

The Indo-Italian combination was scheduled to play Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah of Colombia in the quarterfinals.

The Colombians scotched the hopes of Purav Raja and Divij Sharan with a 7-5, 7-5 victory in the first round.

Having joined the league of Mahesh Bhupathi and company in the best tournaments of the world, the new team, making waves this season, had to be content pocketing a prize purse of $2,970. The money may be handy but not winning ATP points may hurt at some stage, though it is not possible to win all the time in the big league, even for the very best, as Mahesh, or for that matter anyone may vouch.

Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan leads the Indian march in Africa

BURUNDI, SEPT. 25:

The second-seeded Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan sailed past Francesco Garzelli of Italy 6-4, 6-4 in the pre-quarterfinals of the $15,000 ITF men’s Futures tennis tournament on Wednesday.

Africa has been a happy hunting ground for the Chennai left-hander, ranked 329 in the world. He was happy to recover from a foot inflammation in time to make it to Africa, after pulling out from the Turkey event to seek medical attention in Germany.

Jeevan made the doubles semifinals with James Allemby of Britain. He was not alone in Africa, and was accompanied by six other Indians, but none of them, including Mithun Murali, could cross the second round in singles or doubles.

Of course, Jeevan had a chance to conserve his energy as he had a bye in the first round of both the singles and doubles.

Interestingly, the Indians form the majority from among 16 nationalities making 29 members of the main draw. In fact, there was no qualifying event, as everyone made it, with five being treated as qualifiers, and four given wild cards.

The break-up of players from various countries was: India (7), Burundi (4), Rwanda (2), Italy (2), Austria (2), Japan (2), France, Zimbabwe, Poland, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Britain, Gabon, Belgium, US and Canada.

The results:

Singles (pre-quarterfinals): Lorenzo Papasidero (Ita) bt Mithun Murali 5-7, 6-0, 6-3; Jeevan Nedunchehziyan bt Francesco Garzelli (Ita) 6-4, 6-4.

First round: Giles De Sousa (Fra) bt Rahul Sadhwani 6-0, 6-1; Alexander Lazov (Bul) bt Kunal Anand 6-0, 6-1; Lorenzo Papasidero bt Sagar Ahuja 6-1, 6-1; Mithun Murali bt Saidi Nkurunziza (Bdi) 6-0, 6-0; Jannis Liniger (Sui) bt Neishit Vakil 6-0, 6-0; Mark Fynn (Zim) bt Medhir Goyal 6-2, 6-1.

Doubles (quarterfinals): Lukas Jastraung and Gerald Melzer (Aut) w.o. George Barth (US) and Medhir Goyal; Yannick Mertens (Bel) and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan bt James Allemby (GBR) and Gilles De Sousa (Fra) 4-6, 6-3, 10-6.

Pre-quarterfinals: George Barth and Medhir Goyal bt Aymar Hugor Biyamba Nizila Star (Gab) and Anatole Bizimana (Rwa) 7-6(4), 7-6(1); Mark Fynn (Zim) and Hassan Nidayishimiye (Bdi) bt Rahul Sadhwani and Neishit Vakil 6-2, 6-2; Mariusz Kur (Pol)and Eric Vehovec (Can) bt Olivier Havugimana (Rwa) and Mithun Murali 3-6, 6-4, 10-6; Alexander Lazov (Bul) and Jannis Linger (Sui) bt Sagar Ahuja and Kunal Anand 6-3, 7-6(3).

Saketh Myneni retires in the second round in Kuwait

MESHREF (KUWAIT), SEPT. 25:

The top-seeded Saketh Myneni retired while trailing 0-5 against qualifier Sadio Doumbia of France in the pre-quarterfinals of the $10,000 ITF men’s Futures tennis tournament on Wednesday. He had already been feeling the heat literally, after going through the grind last week at the same place.

The other Indian in the second round, Siddharth Rawat went down with guns blazing 6-2, 6-7(3), 2-6 to the fifth-seeded Ivo Klec of Slovakia.

In the doubles quarterfinals, the fourth-seeded Patrick Davidson of the US and Saketh Myneni were beaten 7-6(3), 2-6, 10-5 by Liu Siyu and Wang Chuhan of China. The other Indian pair of Kaza Vinayak Sharma and Akash Wagh was beaten 6-2, 6-2 by the third-seeded Ruan Roelofse of South Africa and Tak Khunn Wang of France.

Ramkumar in doubles semifinals in Spain

SEVILLA, SEPT. 25:

The second-seeded R. Ramkumar and Matwe Middelkoop of the Netherlands cruised past wild card entrants Juan Pablo Canas Garcia and Pedro Dominguez Alonso of Spain 6-3, 6-0 in the doubles quarterfinals of the $10,000 ITF men’s Futures tennis tournament in Spain. National champion Ramkumar had earlier lost the first round of singles.

Ankita Raina in pre-quarterfinals

FERGANA (UZBEKISTAN), SEPT. 25:

The eighth-seeded Ankita Raina dismissed wild card Jamilya Sadykzhanova of Uzbekistan 6-0, 6-1 in the first round of the $25,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament on Wednesday.

The best ranked Indian woman was scheduled to face Yumi Miyazaki of Japan in the pre-quarterfinals.

However, Nidhi Chilumula lost to the seventh-seeded Basak Eraydin of Turkey 4-6, 1-6 in the first round.

In doubles pre-quarterfinals, Ankita Raina and Deniz Khazanuk of Issrael beat Anna Grigoryan and Tatiana Grigoryan of Russia 6-2, 6-2. The Indo-Israeli combination was scheduled to face the second-seeded Michaela Honcova of Slovakia and Veronika Kapshay of Ukraine in the quarterfinals.

Risika Sunkara top seed in Egypt

SHARM EL SHEIKH (EGYPT), SEPT. 25:

Rishika Sunkara was seeded No.1 in both singles and doubles in the $10,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament in Egypt. She was waiting to play her match, even as three other Indian girls lost their first round without much of a fight.

The results:

Singles (first round): Samantha Koelliker (Sui) bt Shivani Manchanda 6-0, 6-0; Evgeniya Svintsova (Rus) bt Anjana Kompally 6-0, 6-1; Erika Hendsel (Est) bt Ashmitha Easwaramurthi 6-4, 6-2.

Doubles (quarterfinals): Giulia Bruzzone (Ita) and Karina Venditti (Bra) bt Marcela Alves Pereira Valle (Bra) and Anjana Kompally 6-2, 6-0.

Pre-quarterfinals: Brenda Njuki (Swe) and Ashmitha Easwaramurthi bt Anastasiya Zubkova and Maria Zubkova (Rus) 6-1, 6-4.

Pranjala Yadlapalli in quarterfinals in China

BEIJING, SEPT 25:

The sixth-seeded Pranjala Yadlapalli beat Yi-Chi Ma of Chinese Taipei 6-2, 6-1 in the pre-quarterfinals of the ITF grade-2 junior tennis tournament on Wednesday. The 14-year-old Andhra girl was scheduled to play the second-seeded Ziyue Sun of China in the quarterfinals.

In the doubles quarterfinals, the second-seeded Snehadevi Reddy and Simran Kaur Sethi was beaten 7-5, 4-6, 10-6 by Sigi Cao and Qiu Yu Ye of China.

Defeat teaches a lot, we are good students of the game

Indian tennis players are continuing to fight it out around the world. The early exit of Somdev Devvarman and Mahesh Bhupathi may be a dampener, but the rest of the lot promise to stay busy through the week.

Quite notably, the junior girls, the 16-year-old Asian junior champion, 14-year-old Pranjala Yadlapalli and Simran Kaur Sethi are getting a taste of the tough world of tennis in Beijing. The experience should make them better, even though early losses may trigger self doubts.

Qualifier Somdev Devvarman loses first round to fellow qualifier

KUALA LUMPUR, SEPT. 24:

The luck of the draw failed to inspire Somdev Devvarman as he lost 3-6, 3-6 to fellow qualifier Matteo Viola of Italy in the first round of the $984,300 Malaysian Open ATP tour event on Tuesday.

He had to be content with the 12 ATP points that he had collected in the qualifying event, and a prize purse of $8,970. It does pay to stay in the top-100.

There was some consolation and an extended stay for the 98^th ranked Somdev, as he got into the doubles draw with Rik De Voest of South Africa as alternates.

The wild card pair of Yuki Bhambri and Syed Mohd. Agil Syed Naguib of Malaysia, bowed out 2-6, 2-6 to the second-seeded crack combination of Julien Bennteau of France and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia.

The first round exit did not fetch any ATP points, but it was worth the flight from Chinese Taipei to Malaysia for the 287^th ranked Yuki as he shared $4,590 with his partner.

Mahesh Bhupathi finds less profit in doubles tennis

BANGKOK, SEPT. 24:

The top-seeded Mahesh Bhupathi and his Swedish partner Robert Lindstedt were shown the door with a 2-6, 6-3, 10-8 defeat by Daniel Gimeno-Traver of Spain and Paolo Lorenzi of Italy in the doubles pre-quarterfinals of the $567,530 Thailand Open ATP Tour event on Tuesday.

Mahesh had to split $2,970 with his partner. Some times, it does not pay to be in the top-10  of doubles !

Meanwhile, Leander Paes, seeded second with Daniele Bracciali of Italy, and the other Indian pair of Divij Sharan and Purav Raja were set for action on Wednesday.

Sanam Singh bows out meekly

NAPA (CALIFORNIA), SEPT. 24:

Davis Cupper Sanam Singh had a tough day as he lost singles and doubles rather tamely in the $50,000 Challenger tennis tournament on Tuesday.

Sanam lost 2-6, 4-6 to Bobby Reyolds of the US in the singles. In the doubles pre-quarterfinals, Sanam and Vijayant Malik were beaten 6-2, 6-2 by Denis Kudla and Donald Young of the US.

There were no ATP points to be gained and the prize was $620 for singles and $360 in doubles.

Saketh Myneni has easy passage

MESHREF (KUWAIT), SEPT. 24:

Top-seeded Saketh Myneni warmed up with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over compatriot Arpit Sharma in the first round of the $10,000 ITF men’s Futures tennis tournament on Tuesday. In the pre-quarterfinals, he was scheduled to play qualifier Sadio Doumbia of France.

Akash Wagh, who had negotiated the qualifying event like Saketh, bowed out in the first round as he was beaten 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-0 by the seventh seeded Torsten Wietoska of Germany. Meanwhile, Austrian Thomas Statzberger sent Jatin Dahiya packing with a 6-1, 6-1 victory.

Prajnesh Gunneswaran fights his way ahead

SHARM EL SHEIKH (EGYPT), SEPT. 24:

The eighth-seeded Prajnesh Gunneswaran fought his way past Marlon Oliveira of Brazil 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 in the first round of the $10,000 ITF men’s Futures tennis tournament on Tuesday.

However, Sasi Kumar Mukund ent down fighting 6-2, 3-6, 3-6 to qualifier Igor Sobolta of Ukraine in another first round encounter.

Mukund partnered Karim Scremin Ashraf El Hawan of Brazil and lost 3-6, 1-6 to the second-seeded Libor Salaba and Michal Schmid of the Czech Republic in the doubles pre-quarterfinals.

Notably, Prajnesh has not entered in the doubles event this week, after winning the title last week.

National Champion R. Ramkumar tastes defeat early

SEVILLA, SEPT. 24:

National champion R. Ramkumar was beaten 6-3, 6-4 by the seventh-seeded Alexander Rumyantsev of Russia in the first round of the $10,000 ITF men’s Futures tennis tournament on Tuesday.

In doubles, Ramkumar in partnership with Matwe Middelkoop of the Netherlands was seeded second, and the duo fought its way past Roberto Carballes Baena and Ricardo Ojeda Lara of Spain 6-1, 6-7(6), 10-6 in the pre-quarterfinals.

Pranjala Yadlapalli moves on, Asian junior champion Snehadevi Reddy loses first round

BEIJING, SEPT. 24:

Pranjala Yadlapalli defeated Jiayuan Xue of China 6-4, 6-4 in the first round of the ITF grade-2 junior tennis tournament.

Two other Indian girls Asian junior champion Snehadevi Reddy and Simran Kaur Sethi lost their singles matches, but pulled through into the quarterfinals of doubles.

The results:

Girls (first round): Ying zhang (Chn) bt Snehadevi Reddy 3-6, 6-3, 6-1; Jia Qi Kang (Chn) bt Simran Kaur Sethi 6-2, 6-4; Pranjala Yadlapalli bt Jiayuan Xue (Chn) 6-4, 6-4.

Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Yijia Shao and Zhanian Wei (Chn) bt Yu-Ting Hsieh (Tpe) and Pranjala Yadlapalli 6-4, 6-4; Snehadevi Reddy and Simran Kaur Sethi bt Yuenu Li and Yanni Liu (Chn) 7-5, 6-1.

Indian under-16 boys team placed in a tough group in Junior Davis Cup

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 24:

India found itself clubbed with the top-seeded Russia and the
seventh-seeded Spain, apart from Argentina in group ‘A’ in the Junior
Davis Cup World Group under-16 tennis tournament being played in San
Luis Potosi, Mexico, from September 24 to 29.

India, represented by Asian Youth Games bronze medallist Garvit Batra,
Sumit Nagal and Sahil Deshmukh, was scheduled to open its campaign
against Russia.

The top two teams from each group will make the quarterfinals.

The groups: A: Russia, Spain, India, Argentina; B: Germany, Japan,
Norway, Mexico; C: US, Australia, Netherlands, Bolivia; D: Korea,
Peru, France, South Africa.

Indian tennis vibrant despite an indifferent media

Indian tennis is vibrant. Yet, except for taking note when Leander Paes wins the US Open, or when there is a controversy to discuss, the Indian media is quite indifferent towards its tennis. It is sad.

People in power, who can ensure a healthy coverage, have no inclination to support the players by projecting them well, and keeping them in public mind. It is a cycle, and every part has a role to play. At a time when Indian tennis is ready to make the breakthrough, the media is fascinated by European football and a hundred other things that are foreign.

The headlines are the tonic for sports persons. If you deny them that, you are denying oxygen to a patient. There is so much that goes into making a player that it is a tragedy when players are reduced to mere numbers in the scores, or ignored completely.

Nevertheless, it is fascinating to keep track ! The good thing is that the players these days are quite tough and will make the breakthrough for a lively career in professional tennis, against the odds despite an indifferent media that chooses to look the other way.

Somdev Devvarman gives himself a chance to play David Ferrer

KUALA LUMPUR, SEPT. 23:

The second-seeded Somdev Devvarman beat Jean-Julien Rojer of the Netherlands 7-5, 7-5 in the third and final qualifying round of the $984,300 Malaysian Open ATP Tour event on Monday.

The 98^th ranked Somdev was rewarded for his fine run with a first round against fellow qualifier, the 140^th ranked Matteo Viola of Italy. The No.1 Indian singles player has already assured himself of 12 ATP points and will look to add at least another 20 to his kitty, before he possibly runs into the No.1 seed David Ferrer in the second round.

The second best Indian player on the ATP computer, eligible to play Davis Cup for the country, the 278^th ranked Yuki Bhambri has been given a wild card in the doubles with Syed Mohd. Agil syed Nagub of Malaysia. The duo will challenge the second-seeded Julien Benneteau of France and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia in the first round.

The 21-year-old Yuki had reached the singles and doubles final last week in Chinese Taipei, and thus could not play the qualifying singles event in Malaysia. However, after playing three tough matches on one day, owing to rain having washed out play earlier, Yuki may perhaps be happy with a relatively light week.

Karunuday Singh loses final qualifying round, the best of doubles stars in action

BANGKOK, SEPT. 23:

The eighth-seeded Karunuday Singh went down fighting 6-4, 1-6, 4-6 to the fourth-seeded Marco Chudinelli of Switzerland in the third and finaly qualifying round of the $567,530 Thailand Open ATP Tour event on Monday.

The 21-year-old Karunuday who is coached by Paul Dale, had to be content with six ATP points and $935.

The doubles draw features  the top-seeded Mahesh Bhupathi in partnership with Robert LIndstedt of Sweden against Daniel Gimeno-Traver of Spain and Paolo Lorenzi of Italy in the first round. The US Open champion Leander Paes has been seeded second iwth Daniele Bracciali of Italy and drawn to play James Cerretani of the US and Adil Shamasoin of Canada.

The fast emerging Indian pair of Divij Sharan and Purav Raja that made the Wimbledon main draw and won an ATP Tour title this season, will play Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah of Colombia in the first round.

Qualifier Saketh Myneni seeded No.1, sweats it out in doubles

MESHREF (KUWAIT), SEPT.23:

Qualifier Saketh Myneni was seeded No.1 in the $10,000 ITF Men’s Futures tennis tournament that began here on Monday.

Saketh who had made a last minute entry for the event after having enjoyed success last week at the same place, had to win a round, which he did with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Tamim Hallak of Lebanon in the second and final qualifying round, to make the main event.

Saketh had to really sweat it out in teh first round of doubles in partnership with Patrick Davidson of the US, as the duo prevailed 7-5, 3-6, 13-11 against Sadio Doumbia and Jordan Ubiergo of France to fetch a place in the quarterfinals.

Akash Wagh also qualified with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Uros Lukic of Yugoslavia. There was a lot of clash among the Indians in singles and doubles. Siddharth Rawat beat Kaza Vinayak Sharma 6-0, 6-4 in the first round.

However, Kaza Vinayak Sharma and Akash Wagh beat Siddharth Rawat and Arpit Sharma 6-3, 6-4 in the doubles pre-quarterfinals.

Vijayant Malik bows out

NAPA (CALIFORNIA), SEPT. 23:

Vijayant Malik found the second-seeded Tim Smyczek of the US too hot to handle as he bowed out to a 2-6, 2-6 defeat in the first round of the $50,000 Napa Valley Challenger tennis tournament on Monday.

Sanam Singh was drawn to play Bobby Reyolds of the US in the first round. Sanam and Vijayant were paired to play Denis Kudla and Donald Young of the US in the doubles pre-quarterfinals.

Nidhi Chilumula in doubles quarterfinals

FERGANA (UZBEKISTAN), SEPT. 23:

Nidhi Chilumula partnered Amina Smolina of Russia to beat Arina Foltis of Uzbekistan and Alexandra Riley of the US 6-1, 6-4 in the doubles pre-quarterfinals of the $25,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament on Monday.

Ankita Raina, the other Indian in the field, partnered Deniz Khazanuk of Israel. In singles, Ankita was seeded eighth and drawn to play wild card Jamilya Sadykzhanova of Uzbekistan, while Nidhi was scheduled to face the seventh-seeded Basak Eraydin of Turkey.