Another lively week ahead with plenty of action . . .

Rohan Bopanna has announced that he would be partnering his long-time friend Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan on the professional tour next year.

Of course, Prajwal Hegde, the Times of India Tennis Editor had written about it before others from Shanghai.

The race for London is reaching its climax, Bopanna’s priority at the moment is to make it with Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France. He had made the final with Mahesh Bhupathi in the last edition in the World Championship in London.

Bopanna has been seeded No.1 in the 1,988,835 Euros Swiss Indoors ATP Tour event in Basel, Switzerland. The duo, ranked 14^th in the race with 1850 points, will open its campaign against Lukasz Kubot of Poland and Andreas Seppi of Italy. It is a 500-point event, and even a title victory will only take the pair close to the top-eight. It will be Paris that offers 1000 ATP points that would clear the air on the subject.

While Sania Mirza has wound up her season, Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi are not playing this week. Both should be seen in action with their partners next week in Paris. Paes and Radek Stepanek of the CzechRepublic are in the seventh spot with 2990 points while Bhupathi, playing with different partners including Bopanna this season has not been able to make the cut for the year-end championship.

Interestingly, Qureshi, who had made the cut with Bopanna for the top-eight teams before the duo split to prepare in earnest for the London Games, is ranked sixth in the race with Jan-Julien Rojer of the Netherlands, with 3215 points.

Yuki Bhambri in the second round of the $50,000 Melboure Challenger

The 287^th ranked Yuki Bhambri, ranked the second best after Somdev Devvarman (90) got off to a comfortable start in the $50,000 Melbourne Challenger, as he beat the rain to sail past qualifier James Lemke of Australia 6-4, 6-0.

In the pre-quarterfinals, the 21-year-old Yuki will play another qualifier Maverick Banes of Australia who ousted the second-seeded Stephane Robert of France 7-6(6), 1-6, 6-3.

Yuki in partnership with Yasutaki Uchiyama of Japan was scheduled to play the third-seeded Bradley Klahn of the US and Michael Venus of New Zealand in the doubles pre-quarterfinals on Tuesday itself, but rain washed out play for the day.

Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan, Vishnu Vardhan, VM Ranjeet and Mithun Murali taste success in Lagos, Nigeria

The second-seeded Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan defeated Clifford Enosoregbe of Nigeria 6-4, 7-5 in the first round of the $15,000 + H men’s ITF Futures tennis tournament in Lagos, Nigeria.

The seventh-seeded V. M. Ranjeet, Vishnu Vardhan and qualifier Mithun Murali also joined him in the second round. Interstingly, Ranjeet and Vardhan will play each other in the second round, and the winner may challenge Jeevan in the quarterfinals.

Well, you travel around the world to Africa, to beat each other in search of the crucial ATP points that promise a better life !

The second-seeded Jeevan and Ranjeet have given a walkover in the first round of doubles.

The results:

Singles (first round): Mithun Murali bt Robert Mensah Kpodo (Gha) 6-3, 6-1; V. M. Ranjeet bt Joseph Imeh Ubon (Ngr) 7-5, 4-6, 6-0; Vishnu Vardhan bt Eric Vehovec (Can) 6-3, 6-2; Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan bt Clifford Enosoregbe (Ngr) 6-4, 7-5.

Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Tunde Segood (Ben) and Mithun Murali bt Alexei Filenkov (Rus) and Andre Gaspar Murta (Por) 4-6, 6-3, 10-8; Candy Idoko (Ngr) and Daouda Ndiaye (Sen) w.o. Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and V. M. Ranjeet.

Qualifying event (second and final round): Mithun Murali bt Albert Bisong Bikom 6-3 7-5; First round: Mithun Murali bt Sunday Maku (Ngr) 6-3, 6-0.

Vijay Sundar Prashanth loses first round in Tipton, Britain

Vijay Sundar Prashanth was beaten 6-4, 6-1 by qualifier Jesper Brunstrom of Sweden in the first round of the $10,000 ITF men’s Futures tennis tournament in Tipton, Britain.

In doubles, Vijay was seeded No.2 with Adam Chadaj of Poland and given a bye in the first round. The duo was set to play Graeme Dyce and Calum Gee of Britain in the quarterfinals.

Ramkumar loses first round in Spain

National champion R. Ramkumar was beaten 6-1, 1-6, 6-2 by the third-seeded Lamine Ouahab of Algeria in the first round of the $10,000 ITF men’s Futures tennis tournament in El Prat De Llobregat, Spain.

In doubles, however, seeded second with David Perez Sanz of Spain, Ramkumar made the quarterfinals, with a 7-6(4), 7-6(7) victory over Jason Kubler of Australia and Pol Toledo Bague of Spain.

Two other Indians figured in the qualifying event, but were beaten in the first round. Rahul Somani was beaten 6-1, 6-0 by Keshav Vellodi of the US while the sixth-seeded Rakshit Rishi went down fighting 2-6, 6-1, 4-6 to Giovanni Grieco of Italy.

Vinod Gowda loses first qualifying round in the US

In the absence of Sanam Singh and Vijayant Malik, there was a surprise Indian entry int he $10,000 ITF men’s Futures tennis tournament in Birmingham, US.

Vinod Gowda, however, was unable to sustain the Indian challenge and lost in the first qualifying round 1-6, 6-2, 2-6 to William Kallberg of Sweden in the draw of 128.

Prarthana progresses in the $25,000 ITF women’s tournament in Lagos, Nigeria

Prarthana Thombare continued to assert her good game as she beat qualifier Ester Masuri of Israel 6-2, 6-0 in the first round of the $25,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament in lagos, Nigeria.

However, the rest of the Indian players, Rishika Sunkara, Nidhi Chilumula, qualifiers Kyra Shroff and Smriti Joon were beaten in the first round.

Prarthana was scheduled to play the eighth-seeded Conny Perrin of Switzeraland who had beaen Nidhi 6-1, 6-1.

The results:

Singles (first round): Channel Simmonds (RSA) bt Rishika sunkara 6-4,6-1; Anna Morgina bt Kyra Shroff 6-4, 6-2; Naomi Broady (GBR0 bt Smriti Joon 6-2, 6-1; Conny Perrin (Sui) bt Nidhi Chilumula 6-1, 6-1; Prarthana Thombare bt Ester Masuri (Isr) 6-2, 6-0.

Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Rishika Sunkara and Prarthana Thombare bt Zarah Razafimahatratra (Mad) and Jasmin Steinherr (Ger) 6-2, 6-7(5), 10-7; Dalila Jakupovic (Slo) and kyra Shroff bt Nina Bratchiova (Rus) and Ines Murta (Por) 7-6(3), 6-2.

Qualifying event (second and final round): Kyra Shroff bt Ines Murta (Por) 3-6, 6-3, 6-3; Aminat Quadri (Ngr) bt Nikita Deshmmukh 6-0, 6-2; Smriti Joon bt Blessing Samuel (Ngr) 7-5, 6-1; First round: Kyra Shroff bt Crystal Ogochukwu Nzewi and abiodun Oyegoke (Ngr) 6-0, 6-0; Nikita Deshmukh bt Tega Richad (Ngr) 6-3, 6-0; Smriti Joon bt Hennetta Ogude (Ngr) 6-1, 6-0.

Shweta Rana in second round in Egypt

National championship runner-up Shweta Rana beat qualifier Iva Ivkovic of Serbia 6-0, 7-6(2) to make the second round of the $10,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

The 20-year-old Shweta, seeded third, was scheduled to play Karina Vendittti of Brazil.

While wild card Tanisha Rohira was beaten 6-1, 6-0 by the top-seeded Sandra Zaniewska of Poland, three other Indians, the seventh-seeded Natasha Palha and qualifiers Ashmitha Easwaramurthi and Sneha padamata were yet to play their first round.

Only 10 players figured in the qualifying event scheduled to spot eight qualifiers, and thus Sneha Padamata and Ashmitha Easwaramurthi were deemed qualified without playing a match.

The doubles action was yet to kick off with the top-seeded Shweta Rana and Natalija Kostic of Serbia being given a bye into the quarterfinals. The third seeded Natasha Palha and Valeria Prosperi of Italy were also seeded straight into the quarterfinals.

The results:

Singles (first round): Sandra Zaniewska (Pol) bt Tanisha Rohira 6-1, 6-0; Shweta Rana bt Iva Ivkovic (Srb) 6-0,7-6(2).

Pranjala Yadlapalli loses first round in Osaka

Pranjala Yadlapalli was beaten 7-5, 6-2 by Kimika Sakata of Japan in the girls first round of the Osaka Mayor’s Cup World Super Junior tennis championship in Osaka, Japan.

In doubles, she partnered Suyeon Choi of Korea and was scheduled to take on the fifth-seeded ziyue Sun and Ying Zhang of China.

Garvit Batra and Dhruthhi Venugopal in second round in ITF juniors event in Thailand

Garvit Batra and Dhruthi Venugopal made it to the second round in the boys and girls sections respectively in the ITF grade-2 junior tournament in Nonthaburi, Thailand.

Qualifier Tanasha Khandpur also continued with her good run and made the second round in which she was scheduled to face the second-seeded Anna Kalinskaya of Russia.

The results:

Boys:

Singles (first round): Garvit Batra bt Jonatan Lundstedt (Swe) 6-3, 6-3; Tanatuch Boonsiri (Tha) bt Ramakrishnan Rengaraj 6-0, 6-0; Ulugbek Fayzullaev (Uzb) bt Sahil Deshmukh 1-6, 6-4, 6-1.

Doubles (first round): Sirawit Daosaengsawang and Phongsapak Kerdlaphee (Tha) bt Tejas Kapoor and Ramakrishnan rengaraj 6-2, 6-2; Runhao Hua (Chn) and Sahil Deshmukh bt Pattanapong Borisutpong and Ratana Tripoj (Tha) 6-2, 6-1; Armando C. Soemarno (Ina) and Garvit Batra bt Jirat Navasirisomboon and Chanintom Silakul (Tha) 6-3, 4-6, 12-10.

Qualifying event (third and final round): Ramakrishnan Rengaraj bt John Bryan Decasa (Phi) 6-4, 6-1; Tanatuch Boonsiri (Tha) bt Tejas Kapoor 6-2, 6-1; Second round: Robert Rasmussen (Swe) bt Priyank soni 6-4, 6-1; Ramakrishnan Rengaraj bt Michael Phonwisut (Tha) 4-6, 6-0, 6-2; Tejas Kapoor bt Kasidit Srivisate (Tha 6-4, 6-1; First round: Priyank soni bt Suppasan Suppamaneevitsiri (Tha) 6-0, 6-1.

Girls (first round): Dhruthi Venugopal bt Kamonluk Kittitanom (Tha) 6-4, 6-4; Sawariya Vasupongchai (Tha) bt Kaaviya Balasubramanian 6-3, 6-1; Thanthita Suetrong (Tha) bt Vasanti Shinde 6-2, 6-4; Tanasha Khandpur bt Vetaka Thipwongthong (Tha) 6-2, 7-5.

Doubels (first round): Parima Leenabanchong and Chutima Mijaroen (Tha) bt Alvina Lai (Hkg) and Kaaviya Balasubramanian 6-4, 7-6(1); Vasanti Shinde and Dhruthi Venugopal bt Amarie Settiwongse and Juthamas Thaipakdee (Tha) 6-1, 6-1; Rheeya Doshi (Sin) and Tami Grende (Ina) bt Phonephathep Philavong (Lao) and Niditra Rajmohan 6-1, 6-4.

Qualifying event (third and final round): Tanasha Khandpur bt anchana Sonkaew (Tha) 4-6, 7-5, 6-1; Parima Leenabanchong (Tha) bt Niditra Rajmohan 1-6, 6-0, 6-0; Kaaviya Balasubramanian bt Ananya Chantharobol (Tha) 6-3, 6-2.

Sanjana Sudhir in quarterfinals in ITF juniors in Dubai

The third-seeded Sanjana Sudhir defeated Yelyzaveta Pletnyeva of Ukraine 6-3, 6-4 to make the quarterfinals of the ITF grade-4 junior tennis tournament in Dubai.

In doubles, she was seeded No.1 with Tessah Andrianjafitrimo of France, and given a bye in the first round.

The results:

Boys (pre-quarterfinals): Shamael Chaudhary (GBR) bt Dhir Gala 6-3, 6-1; First round: Sherzodbek Radjabov (Uzb) bt Harman Suri 6-4, 7-6(2); Karim Najia (GBR) bt Dhruv Bahl 6-4, 6-2; Ghassan Alansi (Yem) bt Karan Soni 6-0,6-0; Akram El Sallaly (Egy) bt Brent Dixon 6-2, 6-1; Dhir Gala bt Saulius Pakstys (Ltu) 6-0, 6-3.

 Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Danlil Mischshenko (Kaz) and Alexey Prokopchuk (Ukr) bt Brent Dixon and Dhir Gala 6-1, 6-1; Karim Najia (GBR) and Ashkan Shekarriz (Iri) bt Adham Hesham Gabr (Egy) and Harman Suri 6-3, 6-3; Ghassan Alansi (Yem) and Kareem Allaf (Syr) bt Alex Smith (Aus) and Karan Soni 6-3, 6-2.

Qualifiying event (third and final round): Harman Suri bt Ritvik Bhawnani (UAE) 6-4, 6-3; Dhruv Bahl bt Alex Smith (Aus) 6-3, 6-1; Second round: Harman Suri bt Vijay Gupta 6-1, 6-2; Dhruv Bahl bt Marius Pakstys (Ltu) 6-1, 6-1; Saulius Pakstys (Ltu) bt Anshul Choubal 6-4, 4-6, 6-3; Nour Nehme (Lib) bt Puneet Varier 4-6, 6-1, 6-2; Muhammad Tlaha Surmawala (Pak) bt Akshay Kalyan 6-3, 6-1.

Girls (pre-quarterfinals): Sanjana sudhir bt Yelyzaveta Pletnyeva (Ukr) 6-3, 6-4; First round: Madeleine Gauthier (US) bt Simran Noronha 6-4, 6-4; Habiba Shaker (Egy) bt Simran Kaur 6-0, 6-1; Malin Buechner (Ger) bt Karishma Bhawnani 6-0, 6-0; Rana Essam (Egy) bt Rai Sengupta 6-2, 6-2.

Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Karishma Bhawnani and Simran Noronha bt Naglaa Gabr (Egy) and Lara Schmid (Ger) 6-4, 6-2; Madeleine Gauthier (US) and Xeniya Prokopchuk (Ukr) bt Simran Kaur and Rai Sengupta 7-5, 6-1.

Rikeetha in second round in South Africa

The second-seeded Rikeetha Pereira defeated Lucy Stofberg of South Africa 6-1, 6-0 in the first round of the ITF grade-5 junior tennis tournament in Stellenbosch, South Africa.

In doubles, Rikeetha was seeded second with Vania Klaric of Serbia.