In the absence of an injured Yuki, a lot would depend on how the left-handed Prajnesh, who won a singles bronze medal at the Asian Games, performs.
Ramkumar Ramanthan played his heart out before losing a tight second round singles match while Purav Raja and Divij Sharan bowed out of the men's doubles in the first round of the qualifiers at Wimbledon on Thursday.
Somdev Devverman kept India's hopes alive in the Davis Cup World Group play-off tie with a 7-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic, in Delhi, on Friday.
Coming into the tournament 21st in the WTA rankings, the Czech won 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in two hours and 16 minutes to add to her triumph in St Petersburg earlier this month.
The top-ranked Indian will face American World No 39 Frances Tiafoe in the first round of the Australian Open
Vishnu Vardhan joined the Indian Davis Cup team in Chandigarh on Sunday and said the hosts are familiar with the playing style of the New Zealand squad that touched down for the Asia-Oceania tie starting September 14.
India's campaign ended at the $125000 Tashkent ATP Challenger after Davis Cuppers, Yuki Bhambri, Vishnu Vardhan and Sanam Singh got beaten in their respective first round matches.
Sharapova was broken in the first game but fought back to draw level before going on to take the first set with a hold to love.
Indian wrestlers have been highly impressive at the global level in run up to the Tokyo Olympics and at least three of them are genuine medal contenders at the Games.
Vinesh Phogat created history, becoming the first Indian woman to win a gold medal in wrestling at the Asian Games in Jakarta.
Lewis Hamilton is on course for his most successful campaign yet and can become only the third driver after Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel to win 13 times in a season.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday
India's Divij Sharan broke into the top-100 in the ATP doubles ranking as he jumped 15 places to a career best 94th spot, while Yuki Bhambri also achieved his career-best singles rank with a nine-place jump to 179 in the latest list released on Tuesday.
Ramkumar, who recently created ripples by scalping top-10 player Dominic Thiem, lost 3-6, 7-6(5), 2-6 to Mahut in two hours and 29 minutes.
'If it is a World Cup then yes, doing away with home and away format, is okay'
Indian contingent has an opportunity to go deep in the draw and recapture the trophy which has been won by just two Indians so far -- the legendary Prakash Padukone (1980) and P Gopichand (2001).
India's Davis Cup Captain Mahesh Bhupathi picked Rohan Bopanna for the Davis Cup match against Uzbekistan in Bengaluru.
India's Prajnesh Gunnesweran won his encounter while Ramkumar Ramanathan and Sumit Nagal lost their respective men's singles opening round matches at the French Open Qualifiers.
India's tennis player Yuki Bhambri was handed a tough draw at the Australian Open when he found himself pitted against World No. 6 Tomas Berdych in the opening round of the men's singles event.
Rohan Bopanna gained three places to be world number 21, and is now country's top ranked player in the ATP doubles chart.
Mahesh Bhupathi, who is making a comeback to competitive tennis after an injury lay-off, won his first title in three years as he combined with Yuki Bhambri to clinch the Delhi Open while Saketh Myneni reached the singles final, in New Delhi, on Saturday.
With Yuki Bhambri and Somdev Devvarman still recovering from their respective injuries, India is set to field same set to players in the upcoming Davis Cup World Group Play-off against Spain, that beat South Korea 4-1 in July.
Bopanna also in reserves while four single specialists named in squad
Senior pro Leander Paes's place in the Indian Davis Cup team will be up for discussion when the AITA Selection Committee meets on Monday to pick the squad for the upcoming Asia/Oceania Zone tie against Uzbekistan.
Max Verstappen put his Red Bull on pole position for the Austrian Grand Prix
The Indian challenge in the men's singles at the Chennai Open came to an end on Tuesday when home favourite Somdev Devvarman was beaten 6-2, 6-4 by Belgian qualifier David Goffin. Earlier in the day, India's two other entries in the singles -- Rohan Bopanna and Yuki Bhambri (both wild cards) suffered similar fate.
Bajrang Punia lost his semi-final bout against home wrestler Daulet Niyazbekov under controversial circumstances after he secured his place in the Tokyo Olympics along with debutant Ravi Dahiya at the World Wrestling Championships.
The villagers have pinned their hopes for development on Ravi, whose success has much to do with the sacrifices and moral guidance of one man -- his father Rakesh Kumar Dahiya.
The 23-year-old champion wrestler's Asian gold medal tells us that tough times don't last, tough people do.
He has qualified for the Tokyo Olympics after knocking off some established global stars in the 57kg but hardly shows any emotion.
Somdev Devvarman fought like a true warrior to lock the tie with his stunning victory in the fourth rubber while Yuki Bhambri was locked in an engrossing battle in the decider, halted by rain mid-way, as India's hopes were still hanging by thread in the David Cup World Group play-off tie against Serbia in Bangalore.
World No.4 Stan Wawrinka will look to win his third successive Chennai Open title, while the Indian challenge will be spearheaded by rising star Yuki Bhambri
Indian Davis Cupper Prajnesh Gunnewaran, on Wednesday, earned the biggest win of his career by stunning world number 23 Denis Shapovalov in the opening round of the ATP Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart.
Yuki Bhambri won the Australian Open Junior boys singles title defeating Alexandros-Ferdinandos Georgoudas of Germany in straight sets in the final in Melbourne on Saturday. Top seed Bhambri registered a comprehensive 6-3, 6-1 victory to become only the fourth Indian to win a Junior Grand Slam title.
World No 10 Rohan Bopanna and Saketh Myneni suffered a shock straight set mauling at the hands of Artem Sitak and Marcus Daniell as India were left trailing 1-2 against New Zealand.
How the 22-year-old Indian reached the Show Court at US Open, finding himself against 20-time Grand Slam Champion Roger Federer after beginning the year outside 350.
India's non-playing captain Anand Amritraj was upbeat ahead of the Asia Oceania Group I Davis Cup tie against New Zealand, to be played in Pune from February 3 to 5, but cautioned the Kiwis should not be taken lightly.
The prestigious awards recognise the achievements of the elite badminton players
Leander Paes regained his place in the top-50, courtesy a Challenger title win at the Newport Beach event. The triumph took the veteran Indian tennis star 14 places up, to 47 in the latest rankings, issued on Monday.
Career best rank of 168 in singles for Ramkumar
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