There was no "Miracle on the Seine" at the Paris Olympics on Saturday as the United States men's basketball team did as expected by grinding out a 98-87 win over France to claim a fifth consecutive gold medal.
Bora Gojo and Marin Cilic gave Croatia a 2-0 lead over India, winning the opening singles, in their Davis Cup qualifier in Zagreb on Friday. Gojo, ranked 277th, put the hosts ahead with a come-from-behind 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory over world No. 132 Prajnesh Gunneswaran while world No. 37 Cilic was taken to two tie-breakers before prevailing over 182-ranked Ramkumar Ramanathan 7-6(8), 7-6(8).
Mahesh Bhupathi may not be considered again for the job as India's non-playing captain after he refused to be part of the Davis Cup tie against Pakistan.
Panama beat Bolivia 3-1 on Monday to finish second in Group C and qualify for the Copa America quarter-finals after tournament hosts United States were eliminated following a 1-0 loss to group winners Uruguay.
Roger Federer guided Switzerland to victory in their Davis Cup World Group playoff tie against the Netherlands with an easy 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 victory over Thiemo de Bakker on Sunday.
Defending Copa America champions Argentina beat Canada 2-0 in the opening match of the tournament on Thursday.
Australian Open holder Djokovic will make his ATP Cup debut for Serbia against South Africa in Brisbane on Saturday while Nadal will lead Spain into action against Georgia in Perth on the same day.
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.
Former India tennis star Vijay Amritraj says the new Davis Cup format will not affect the country much as it is still playing home and away games in Group I and not the World Group matches.
India are due to be in Islamabad for the tie after the ITF allowed Pakistan the right to host the tie on September 14 and 15.
India will now face world number two Croatia for the Qualifiers in an away tie
Veteran pairing Julien Benneteau and Nicolas Mahut booked France's place in another Davis Cup final as they won the doubles to seal the champions' 3-0 victory over Spain in their World Group semi-final on Saturday.
An Indian tennis team will travel to Pakistan after 55 years. The last time they sparred on Pakistan soil was way back in March 1964 in Lahore, where India won 4-0.
Andy Murray's illustrious career finally came to an end as he and doubles partner Dan Evans were beaten 6-2, 6-4 by American pair Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul in the Olympics quarter-finals at Roland Garros on Thursday.
India were drawn against their Pakistan for an away Asia-Oceania Zone Group 1 fixture.
Davis Cup captain Arnaud Clement has been sacked following France's quarter-final defeat against Britain, the French federation (FFT) said on Friday.
Divij Sharan, who was a reserve in the Indian Davis Cup team, has decided not to travel for the away tie against China, a move which may soon pave the way for introduction of a code of conduct for players.
Sports Minister M S Gill on Sunday congratulated Indian Davis Cup team for their 3-2 win over Brazil in Chennai, which ensured the country's re-entry to the elite World Group.
'After three decades of passion for our sport and playing for 1.3-plus billion Indians in the Olympics and Davis Cup, I am thrilled that my hard work has been recognised.'
Livid at Mahesh Bhupathi for making their private conversion public, Leander Paes said his former partner's conduct is unbecoming of a Davis Cup Captain.
Rohan Bopanna and Saketh Myneni lost the do-or-die doubles rubber against Serbia as India conceded an unassailable 0-3 lead to lose the Davis World Group Play-off tie, in Kraljevo, Serbia on Saturday.
Rafael Nadal has been left out of Spain's Davis Cup squad for their World Group first-round match against Croatia this weekend due to fatigue.
'You cannot have only one product or one market or one customer segment.'
The Davis Cup final between Belgium and Britain will go ahead despite Brussels being placed on maximum alert over the threat of an imminent attack, local organisers and the International Tennis Federation said on Monday.
'The Davis Cup has always been quite special for me because playing for your country is totally different than playing for your own name,' the Swiss said.
Now both men have made history for their country, leaving a permanent mark on the history books.
The tie will be played on a hard court indoor surface with the roof closed.
World No 2 Andy Murray's three-point contribution to Britain's defeat of Belgium in the Davis Cup final concluded one of the most remarkable years ever achieved in the competition by an individual player. Below are the key facts:
Top singles player Yuki Bhambri on Monday returned to the Indian Davis Cup team along with Saketh Myneni even as veteran Leander Paes was expectedly dropped from the squad for the tie against Canada next month.
'We are not interested in forfeiting the tie. We look forward to working with the ITF to find a solution that guarantees the safety of all the players'
Serbia's world number one Novak Djokovic will return to Davis Cup action after a season's absence when he leads his country against Croatia in the first round in March, he said on Wednesday.
Alex Corretja will be Spain's new Davis Cup team captain for the next two years, the country's tennis federation said.
Albert Costa has stepped down as captain of Spain's Davis Cup team and moved into a new role as overseer of all the country's national teams, the Spanish tennis federation said on Thursday.
Former doubles world No. 1 Leander Paes was recently elected to receive the Ultimate Honour in Tennis - induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame - as the Class of 2024.
The 2022 champions and last year's runners-up GT lost to Punjab Kings by three wickets and Lucknow Super Giants by 33 runs in their last two matches, and Miller's firepower was sorely missed at the back-10.
India will host five-time champions Spain on the hard courts of Delhi Lawn Tennis Association in the Davis Cup World Group Play-off tie, scheduled for September 16-18.
The Australian team of Wayne Arthurs and Todd Woodbridge teamed up to beat Alex Corretja and Feliciano Lopez in the crucial doubles rubber.
The appointment was made after non-playing captain Ramesh Krishnan asked not to consider him for the post in 2004.\n
India's first and only tennis medal in the history of Olympic Games came way back in 1996, when Leander Paes claimed the singles bronze in Atlanta.
India on Wednesday termed as "disappointing" a Denmark court's refusal to allow the extradition of Purulia arms drop case mastermind Kim Davy and strongly rejected the argument that prisoners are subjected to torture in India. "The Kim Davy verdict is very disappointing. We reject the argument that prisoners are subjected to torture or that human rights of the accused will be violated," said Home Minister P Chidambaram.
