When is comes to Indian tennis, it has to be the year of Sania Mirza! The Hyderabadi ace set aside all controversies and soared. Having overcome career-threatening injuries she was back to winning ways. Sania won her third mixed doubles Grand Slam title and wrapped up a dream season with the year-end finale trophy even as India's established male tennis players found the going tough in 2014.
Doubles is not a sideshow: Yuki Bhambri on re-invention and right support
Rohan Bopanna erased a one-set deficit to upset world No 51 Jose Acasuso and advance to the second round of the Malaysian Open while compatriot Somdev Devvarman made an early exit from the Thailand Open, losing his first round.
Somdev Devvarman and Sania Mirza breezed into the quarter-finals after easy victories but Rohan Bopanna bowed out of the men's singles competition at the Commonwealth Games on Wednesday. Up against second seed and world number 133 Australian Peter Luczak, Bopanna went down fighting 2-6, 6-7(5) in 97 minutes in the second round, at the R K Khanna Tennis stadium.
India's numero uno tennis player Somdev Devvarman and US-based Prakash Amritraj crashed out out in the opening round of the $ 50,000 ATP Challenger, while compatriot Rohan Bopanna entered the second round of the hard court event in Bangkok on Tuesday.
Somdev Devvarman began the new season on a winning note, carving out a straight set win over world number 114 Kevin Kim to make the second round even as Rohan Bopanna was knocked of $ 450,000 ATP Chennai Open on Tuesday.
Indian Davis Cuppers Somdev Devvarman and Rohan Bopanna advanced to doubles quarter-finals in different ATP Challenger events after hard-earned victories. Somdev and his American partner Ryan Harrison overcame the challenge of local pair Ilija Cuic and Kresimir Ritz 7-6(3), 6-2 in the first round of the US $50,000 Zagreb event in Croatia.
Somdev Devvarman fought an intense battle against Australian qualifier Samuel Groth but eventually lost 6-7(4), 7-6(10), 4-6 in the first round of the Nottingham Challenger. Rohan Bopanna, who entered the main draw via the qualifying event, beat Russian Alexandre Kudryavtsev 2-6, 6-3, 7-5.
Carrying forward their good work at the Davis Cup, India's Somdev Devvarman and Rohan Bopanna have qualified for the BNP Paribas Open, an ATP Masters tournament in Indian Wells on Thursday.
India badly missed Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhuapthi as Rohan Bopanna and Somdev Devvarman lost the crucial doubles rubber to hand a 2-1 lead to top seeds and defending champions Serbia in the Davis Cup World Group first round tie, in Novi Sad, Serbia, on Saturday.
Somdev Devvarman recorded his first Davis Cup win to keep India afloat in the second round tie against Chinese Taipei as both the teams were locked 1-1 on the opening day of the Asia/Oceania Zone Group I tie in Kaohsiung (Chinese Taipei) on Friday.
Top seed Yen Hsun Lu of Taipei and seventh seeded Somdev Devvarman of India made it to the second round of the $125,000 ATP Tashkent Challenger at the Olympic Tennis Stadium in Tashkent. Lu outplayed Indian wild card Rohan Bopanna 6-4, 6-2 while Devvarman demolished 281-ranked Spaniard Guillermo Olaso 6-3, 6-2 in first round matches.
'Right from 2002, making my debut and 22 years later still getting to represent India. I'm extremely proud of that.'
Leander Paes makes a return to the country's Davis Cup team as India named a four-member squad for the World Group play-off tie at home against top seeds Czech Republic from September 18-20.
India took the opening day's honours in the Davis Cup World Group play-off tie against South Africa in Johannesburg on Friday, with Somdev Devvarman and Rohan Bopanna winning the opening singles. While Somdev overwhelmed Izak Van der Merwe 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-4 in the first singles, Bopanna rallied from a set down to beat South Africa's No 1 Rik De Voest, ranked 189, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-4.
But the big question that keeps striking the mind is, if Indian tennis system can actually claim this win as its own. The answer is: partially.
Somdev Devvarman took just eight minutes to complete the unfinished business as he beat Ti Chen 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3), 1-6, 6-2, 9-7 in the second singles to put India 2-0 ahead in the Asia/Oceania Group I Davis Cup tie in Indore on Saturday.
Bopanna also spoke about the challenging conditions at the Australian Open and having to push his boundaries to get them wins.
India's Somdev Devvarman was beaten in straight sets by World No. 11 Andy Murray in the second round of the ATP Shenzen Open, in Shenzhen, on Thursday.
Top singles players Somdev Devvarman and Yuki Bhambri on Saturday made a return to the Indian Davis Cup team even as Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna continued to be pariahs for the crucial tie against Indonesia in April.
No.1 ranking will inspire 'Gen-Next' of Indian tennis, says Rohan Bopanna after achieving the feat
India's Rohan Bopanna on Monday jumped four places to 12th in the latest doubles ranking chart. The soar in rankings was courtesy his title victory at the ATP Dubai 500 event.
Indian tennis player Rohan Bopanna has risen to a career-best ninth in the ATP doubles rankings after the title triumph at the Gerry Weber Open in Germany.
Top singles players Somdev Devvarman and Yuki Bhambri are likely to return to the Indian Davis Cup team as the national selectors meet to pick the squad for the tie against Indonesia, in New Delhi on Saturday.
India challenge ended in the singles event of the Tashkent ATP Challenger with the straight set defeat of Somdev Devvarman even as Rohan Bopanna advanced to the doubles semi-finals along with partner Yen Hsun Lu.
Somdev Devvarman was handed an easy opener but a tough second round match at the Chennai Open.
Changing its stance towards Somdev Devvarman's pulling out of the Asian Games squad, the AITA said it supports the step taken by the top singles player of the country.
Having overcome a shoulder injury, India's top singles tennis player Somdev Devvarman said he was working hard to remain strong and break into top 60 in the near future.
Somdev Devvarman rose a rung to 84 while out of action Sania Mirza was static on number 88 in the latest tennis rankings.
Rohan Bopanna and his new German partner Andre Begemann knocked out the top seeded pair of Alexendra Peya and Bruno Soares to storm into the quarter-finals of the ATP 500 Citi Open in Washington.
The Indo-Pakistani pair of Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi entered the second round at Wimbledon, beating Somdev Devwarman and Treat Conrad Huey of the Philippines.
There will be no Indians in this year's French Open singles draw as all three contenders, including Yuki Bhambri, bowed out after second-round defeats in the Qualifiers in Paris.
Somdev Devvarman and Prakash Amritraj fought their way into the second round of the men's doubles event of the Australian Open but Rohan Bopanna's challenge came to an end with a first round defeat in Melbourne on Wednesday.
India's tennis campaign at the Asian Games appears to be falling apart even before the start of the inter-continental event, as a cloud of doubt now hangs over Rohan Bopanna's participation since the top doubles player is keen to salvage his 2014 pro season by playing on the ATP Tour instead of competing in Incheon.
Rohan Bopanna returned to the country's Davis Cup squad after a two-year gap as AITA named a six-member team on Saturday, for the Asia/Oceania Group I contest against Chinese Taipei, starting January 31 in Indore.
Somdev Devverman gained a place to be back to career-high singles ranking of 71 while Sania Mirza remained on number 73 in the ranking charts, released on Monday.
India's World Group hopes are hanging by a slender thread as its top singles player, Somdev Devvarman is still doubtful to play Sunday's reverse singles in the play-off tie against Japan due to a shoulder injury.
The early exit from Chennai Open cost Somdev Devvarman 35 places as the wiry Indian dropped to 161 in the latest ATP singles ranking issued on Monday.
The Indian challenge at the 2010 Chennai Open came to an end on Saturday with Somdev Devvarman and Sanam Singh crashing out of the men's doubles in the semi-finals. The experienced pair of Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna, seeded third, had lost a day earlier.
India's top singles player Somdev Devvarman returned to top-100 after nearly two years as he jumped three places to 98 in the latest ATP singles rankings, issued on Monday.