Somdev Devvarman rose a rung to 84 while out of action Sania Mirza was static on number 88 in the latest tennis rankings.
Leander Paes, named a reserve in India's Davis Cup team for the Uzbekistan tie, is in line to win his first title of the season, albeit on the Challenger Tour, with Canadian partner Adil Shamasdin.
World No 15 India will now compete in the Zone Group action later this year.
In the 18 years that she has been on tour, Sania Mirza was the standard-bearer for tennis in the country. Never before had an Indian player dominated from the back court with such conviction. Deepti Patwardhan Salutes the Incomparable Sania Mirza.
AITA secretary Anil Khanna asked Mahesh Bhupathi to keep the country's interest in mind while making it clear that only 'the best' team, which has already been announced, will be sent to the Beiging Games.
Leander Paes, on Sunday, won his first title of the season, combining with Canadian Adil Shamasdin to lift the Leon Challenger Tour tennis tournament's men's doubles trophy after a straight-set triumph in Leon.
Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi should not be forced to play together at the London Olympics if they are not comfortable in playing as a team, feels Indian tennis legend Vijay Amritraj.
Nagal, who has played his best tennis this season, sent a confirmation to the All India Tennis Association (AITA) on Thursday night while Ramkumar had conveyed his availability a few days ago.
India's number one player Prajnesh Gunneswaran, who achieved career-high 102 ranking this week, has been drawn against 22-year-old debutant Matteo Berrettini in the second singles rubber at the Calcutta South Club grass courts.
Leander Paes became the most successful player in the history of Davis Cup as he combined with Rohan Bopanna to not only grab a record 43rd win but also bring India back in tie against China, in Tianjin, on Saturday.
Former Davis Cup captain Jaidip Mukerjea on Thursday termed Leander Paes' unceremonious ouster as sad but said it is a step in the right direction.
Mahesh Bhupathi rued that his men failed to seize the opportunities against a much higher-ranked Italy
India have a good chance of winning medals in both, men's doubles and mixed doubles events at next year's Rio Olympics, feels former player Mahesh Bhupathi.
The Davis Cup revolt by Prakash Amritraj and Rohan Bopanna against captain Leander Paes was a diaster waiting to happen, according to former India player Anand Amritraj.
Sania Mirza said the Olympics tennis selection row trained her relationship with Mahesh Bhupathi but she has left it behind to focus on winning a medal in mixed doubles with Leander Paes.
The pairs of Mahesh Bhupathi/Rohan Bopanna and Sunil Kumar Sipaeya/Vinod Sridhar easily won their semi-final matches at the Afro-Asian Games.
Rohit Rajpal will continue as India's non-playing captain. He took over as captain last year after the country's top players and then captain Mahesh Bhupathi refused to travel to Pakistan in November. India is scheduled to travel to Croatia for their next tie on March 6 and 7.
Insisting that it had not imposed a ban on Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna, the All India Tennis Association (AITA) said that by sidelining the duo, it was sending out a message that indiscipline will not be tolerated at any cost.
Paes was dropped from the tie against Uzbekistan last April. He has been out of favour since the Bengaluru fiasco when he was not included in the starting line-up by captain, Mahesh Bhupathi.
Leander Paes is set to return to the Indian Davis Cup squad after making himself available for the upcoming tie against Pakistan as the country's top players and non-playing captain Mahesh Bhupathi have refused to travel to the neighbouring nation, citing security concerns.
Gunning for yet another Grand Slam title, India's old war horse Leander Paes and his Czech partner Radek Stepanek have been seeded fifth at the Australian Open and they will open their campaign against Czech pair of Lukas Dlouhy and Lukas Rosol.
Indian tennis star Somdev Devvarman climbed six places in the latest ATP rankings to touch a career-best 62nd position in the singles list.
As the Indian Express join forces after nine long years on the ATP circuit, Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi will be hoping this reunion would help them prepare well and win Australian Open, the only Grand Slam trophy missing from their cupboard, says our correspondent Bikash Mohapatra
Third seeds Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi got the better of Spain's Marc Lopez and David Marrero to advance to the quarter-finals of the Sony Ericsson ATP Masters Open in Miami on Wednesday. The 'Indian Express' won the second round match against their unseeded opponents 7-6(5), 6-4.
The AITA selection committee, on Tuesday, decided to keep veteran Leander Paes in the five-member playing squad for the upcoming Davis Cup tie against Croatia, making Divij Sharan the reserve member.
India's best chances of a medal was in the mixed doubles in which Leander Paes is expected to partner Sania Mirza.
Amid continuing suspense over India's doubles combination, veteran Leander Paes, on Wednesday, began training for the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group I tie against Uzbekistan, starting on Friday.
Bopanna being the highest-ranked doubles player in the country is automatic choice for the doubles rubber.
The 42-year-old Leander Paes's dream of appearing in a record seventh Olympics may remain just that if Rohan Bopanna decides to play with a player ranked lower than the world No 46.
Somdev Devvarman yet again holds the key as the Indian Davis Cup team, sans Leander Paes, take on hosts South Africa from Friday to stake claim of a berth in the World Group after 11 years.
The Indian tennis players are "excited and available" to travel to Pakistan for the upcoming Davis Cup tie but want to be assured that all the security measures are in place before they reach Islamabad.
The Indian Davis Cup team was staring at defeat at the zonal level for the first time in five years following shock defeats of Ramkumar Ramanathan and Sumit Nagal on the opening day of the second round tie against China, in Tianjin, on Friday.
Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi took India to the World Group play-offs as they won the doubles encounter against Japan and clinch the Asia Oceania round II tie 3-0 in New Delhi on Saturday. India's top singles players Rohan Bopanna and Prakash Amritraj had come through tough five-setters on Friday.
Four members of the Davis Cup team have written to the AITA saying they will not play under captain Leander Paes.
Top seeds Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis entered the final at the Madrid Open after a crushing 6-2, 6-0 victory over Vania King and Alla Kudryavtseva on Friday. It is the second successive final for the Indo-Swiss pair following the runners-up finish in Stuttgart.
India's Sania Mirza and Switzerland's Martina Hingis entered the women's doubles third round.
Yuki, ranked 93, has told AITA that if he gets direct entry into the last Grand Slam of the season, he won't be available.
Former Davis Cupper Jaideep Mukherjea was appointed president of the newly-formed Indian Tennis Players Association (ITPA) while Leander Paes was surprisingly named as one of three vice presidents.
Divij Sharan and Purav Raja will make their first ever appearance at a Grand Slam as the Indian duo qualified for the Wimbledon men's doubles event.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances