Opportunity knocked on the door for Vishnu Vardhan, and he made the best of it. The 25-year-old Olympian discusses it with Bikash Mohapatra.
Top seed Vishnu Vardhan encountered opening round blues as he was taken the distance before putting it across unseeded compatriot Ashwin Vijayragavan in the first round of the CCI-ITF men's US $15,000 tennis tournament in Mumbai on Tuesday. The Secunderabad-based Davis Cupper, the highest ATP-ranked player at 272 in the draw, prevailed 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 in two hours and 16 minutes.
Third seed N Sriram Balaji overcame early jitters to quell a spirited challenge from compatriot Ramkumar Ramanathan in his opening match at the CCI-ITF men's US $15,000 tournament 2012, at the CCI courts, in Mumbai, on Monday. The Chennai-based lad won 7-5, 6-4 in an hour and 50 minutes.
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.
It left the players and the team management disappointed and after discussing the matter among themselves, they have decided to approach the federation.
Ending days of speculation, Sania Mirza was on Tuesday awarded a wild card entry along with Rushmi Chakravarthi for the women's doubles tennis event at the London Olympics.
They have not played together after winning a bronze medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games but Rushmi Chakravarthi feels she and Sania Mirza have enough individual experience behind them to again gel well as a team at the upcoming London Olympics.
A clear picture on Leander Paes' participation at the London Olympics is unlikely to emerge before June 28, when ITF will reveal whether Sania Mirza has been given a wild card.
Ranjeet Virali-Murugesan and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan shocked higher ranked Indian compatriots Karan Rastogi and Vijayant Malik to enter the semi-finals in the US $15,000 Solaris ITF Men's Futures Tennis Championships in Pune on Thursday.
Mexican tennis player Daniel Garza has been suspended for six months and fined $5,000 after being found guilty of match-fixing, the Tennis Integrity Unit said on Tuesday.
Former Romanian tennis player Ilie Nastase will not be welcome at this year's Wimbledon championships and could be stopped at the gate if he tries to attend.
Unseeded Tamara Curovic of Serbia was dumped out of the US $10,000 CCI-ITF women's tournament for racquet abuse that injured a match official, in the quarter-finals of the singles event, at the Cricket Club of India courts, in Mumbai, on Thursday.
Top seed Keren Shlomo of Israel survived several anxious moments before overcoming Indian qualifier Kyra Shroff and making the second round in the $10,000 CCI ITF women's tennis tournament in Mumbai on Tuesday. Shlomo, who at No 396 is the highest ranked player in the competition, rallied splendidly after the loss of the first set to beat the Mumbai-based Shroff 2-6, 6-2, 6-1.
Sixth seed Deniz Khazaniuk enjoyed a comfortable passage to the second round of the $10,000 CCI ITF tournament. The Israeli player, ranked 471, tamed India's wild card Ashwarya Shrivastava 6-1, 6-3 in a first round singles match, at the CCI tennis courts in Mumbai, on Monday.
Banned American tennis player Robert Kendrick will appeal to the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) to shorten his 12-month suspension for doping, his attorneys said on Monday.
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.
Sania Mirza has enjoyed a dream run in the history Indian tennis this year. With two Grand Slam titles, 10 ATP crowns, in the WTA rankings, the Hyderabadi star continues to be World No 1.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday.'
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
India will begin their campaign by locking horns with China on Tuesday. Ankita has been in tremendous form since the start of the season, winning two ITF singles and as many doubles titles.
Maria Sharapova, the Russian five-time Grand Slam champion who became one of the highest paid sportswomen in the world, announced her retirement at the age of 32 on Wednesday. The former world number has played only two matches this year, losing in the first round of the Australian Open, with her ranking sliding to 373.
Roger Federer called on Wednesday for a merger between the men's ATP Tour and the WTA, which runs the women's circuit, as tennis wades through a lengthy coronavirus shutdown with lower-level professionals in deep financial crisis. The tennis season was suspended in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the hiatus will continue at least until mid-July, depriving lower-level players, who depend solely on tournament winnings, of the chance to earn a living.
Vishnu Vardhan won his second Challenger level title of the season with Japanese partner Toshihide Matsui but four other Indians, including Leander Paes, tumbled out of various ATP events across the globe.
Sahara Force India enjoyed a double points finish at the 'home' British Grand Prix with Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez finishing eight and ninth to collect six points for the team, in Silverstone, on Sunday.
India's Sanam Singh lost to Peter Polanski for the second time in two months and crashed out of the ATP Knoxville Challenger event in the United States.
Sanam Singh knocked out fifth seed Donald Young in straight sets to move to the singles quarter-finals of the ATP Knoxville Challenger event in the United States.
After stunning top seed Karan Rastogi on Thursday, sixth seed Yuki Bhambri turned giant-killer, scalping No 4 Gero Kretschmer of Germany in straight sets, to storm into the final of the CCI-ITF US$15,000 Men's Futures tennis tournament at the Cricket Club of India in Mumbai on Friday.
Top seed Karan Rastogi and No 6 Yuki Bhambri, both of India, registered comfortable second round victories to ease into the quarter-finals of the CCI-ITF US$15,000 men's Futures tennis tournament at the Cricket Club of India, in Mumbai, on Wednesday.
'The situation with Sharapova could be resolved after April 21 when we meet with the head of the international federation. After that all should be become clear. It is too early to talk about Sharapova competing at the Olympic Games'
Since new Davis Cup reforms have been introduced, India will not have to go back to the Asia/Oceania Group immediately.
Controversial tennis star Nick Kyrgios has launched a fresh social media attack on Australian Olympic team boss Kitty Chiller before launching a Facebook poll to determine whether he should go to the Rio Games.
Forced to go through the qualifiers to compete in the US Open due to low ranking, Sania Mirza has been drawn against Russian Ksenia Lykina as her first round opponent.
Sania Mirza will lead the Indian campaign in the Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group II competition as selectors on Sunday named a six-member squad, which also has fast rising talent Poojashree Venkatesh.
Giant-killer Yuki Bhambri rallied from two match-points down in the second set to score a thrilling 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory over No 7 Roko Karanusic of Croatia in the final of the CCI-ITF US$15,000 Men's Futures tennis tournament at the Cricket Club of India, in Mumbai, on Saturday.
Somdev Devvarman's stay in the top-100 lasted just a week, as the Indian suffered a huge loss of 15 positions to find himself at 111th spot in the latest ATP rankings. In the WTA rankings, Sania Mirza's slide continued, The Indian ace found herself at No 153 after a loss of 15 places.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday.
Somdev Devvarman remained static on 109 but Yuki Bhambri jumped 21 places to 404 in the latest ATP singles ranking list issued on Monday.
His recent success on the ITF circuit on Tuesday fetched teenage sensation Yuki Bhambri a place in the Indian Davis Cup squad for the crucial World Group play-off tie against South Africa scheduled September 18 to 20.
Tennis Australia will appeal the International Tennis Federation's (ITF) decision to confirm Chennai as the venue for next month's Davis Cup tie between India and Australia, citing security concerns, local media reported. Security worries have grown around sporting events in south Asia following the ambush on the Sri Lankan cricket team bus in Lahore, Pakistan, by armed gunmen last month.
AITA on sticky wicket after shift in venue
