A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Monday
Blown away by Spain's David Ferrer in the second singles, Shaketh Myneni said he will have to put the disappointing day behind him and try to get back the momentum for India when he pairs up with Leander Paes for the doubles on Saturday.
Rafael Nadal's decision to opt out of the Davis Cup World Group Play-off opening tie remained shrouded in mystery with Spain captain Conchita Martinez and player Feliciano Lopez coming up with two different versions.
Bopanna also in reserves while four single specialists named in squad
Ramkumar Ramanathan paid the price of not containing his unforced errors as he made a first round exit from the ATP Chennai Open while his compatriot and qualifier Vijay Sundar Prashanth also bowed out after a crushing defeat, on Tuesday.
India's tennis legend Vijay Amritraj said that the country needs to develop quality singles players if it wants to be in the elite group in the world.
Australia eased ahead of Bosnia 2-0 as John Millman thumped Damir Dzumhur 6-3, 6-2 while Alex de Minaur overcame Mirza Basic 6-3, 7-6(0), before Millman revealed the team's larger goal under captain Lleyton Hewitt.
As India gear up to host five-time champions Spain in a Davis Cup World Group Play-off tie, Saketh Myneni knows the enormity of the task at hand.
India's top tennis players Mahesh Bhupathi, Saketh Myneni, Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Sriram Balaji have been granted wild card entries into the doubles draw of Chennai Open, the organisers announced on Monday.
Ramkumar Ramanathan's good run at the Chennai Open continued as he combined with compatriot N Sriram Balaji to knock out fourth seeded Kiwi pair of Artem Sitak and Marcus Daniel on Wednesday and storm into the doubles quarter-finals.
The Sports Ministry has chosen 152 athletes across disciplines for Rs. 50,000 allowance per month for their preparations for next year's Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Sania, the country's finest woman doubles player, who began the year with the number one ranking, closed it at number 9.
Having ticked off all the boxes during an eventful 2016, a 'hungry' Leander Paes is in search of a new partner with an aim to take his coveted Grand Slam titles tally to 20.
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.
Veteran Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna outclassed the Korean pair of Seong Chan Hong and Hong Chung in straight sets to guide India to the Davis World Group Play-offs as the hosts took an unassailable 3-0 lead in the Asia/Oceania Group I tie.
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.
Prajnesh, India's top-ranked singles player at 122, downed the local wild card Jason Kubler 7-5, 6-3 in the first round
'In my eight ties as captain we won five and lost three to Serbia, Czech Republic and Spain who were all better teams than us. We should have won against Czech but lost 3-2. Having said that they were top 10 teams and I am not too unhappy losing to them'
According to the latest rankings issued on Monday, the left-handed Sharan is ranked 50th after gaining a place. He had reached the final of the last three tournaments he participated in, winning the ATP 250 European Open, while ending runner-up at Challenger events in Brest and Tashkent with different partners.
Roger Federer began his latest quest for a 100th ATP title with a battling 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 win over Philipp Kohlschreiber in the first round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Monday.
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.
Beset by injuries to singles players and 'mistrust' between the Rio-bound doubles players, India would expect young Ramkumar Ramanathan and Saketh Myneni to rise to the occasion when they face Korea in the Asia/Oceania Group I Davis Cup tie, starting, in Chandigarh, on Friday.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
Flavia Pennetta, Italy's newly-crowned US Open women's singles champion, will represent Mumbai Masters in this year's Champions Tennis League along with 1996 Wimbledon men's champion Richard Krajicek of the Netherlands following the players' draft, in Mumbai, on Wednesday. The second edition of the Champions Tennis League, the brainchild of former India Davis Cup captain Vijay Amritraj, will be played from November 23 to December 6, an increase of four days from last year's ten-day duration, announced Amritraj at a media conference after the players' draft.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday.
Somdev Devvarman would be India's while Yuki Bhambri is expected to carry his good from into the new season which is full of new challenges for the Indian players as ATP Aircel Chennai Open begins on Monday.
Spain did not need their best players to beat India but then they are taking the World Group Davis Cup play-off tie very "seriously", bringing a strong 20-member contingent to tackle the lower-ranked home players.
Yuki Bhambri became only the third Indian to reach the singles quarter-finals of an ATP World Tour event at home after winning his second round against an unfit world number 16 Fabio Fognini even as Ramkumar Ramanathan's fairytale run came to an end in Chennai on Thursday.
Veteran star Leander Paes is set to combine with Rohan Bopanna for the doubles rubber during the Davis Cup tie against Serbia, Indian captain Anand Amritraj confirmed today but he says nothing has been decided on the Asian Games squad as yet.
The All India Tennis Association says an unflattering perception is being created about it in the wake of Mahesh Bhupathi's removal as captain when it actually selected Rohit Rajpal because the ITF, till the last moment, had not given the impression that it would move the Davis Cup tie out of Islamabad.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Tuesday
Top seed Stanislas Wawrinka scored a clinical 6-3, 6-1 win over Benjamin Becker to progress to the quarter-finals of the ATP Chennai Open even as second seed Michael Youzhny conceded his singles match in yet another the player pull out in Chennai.
Young Sumit Nagal showed spark in his game on Davis Cup debut before 'breathing problem' scuttled his victory march as India suffered a 5-0 whitewash at the hands of mighty Spain in the World Group Play-off tie, in New Delhi on Sunday. Up against the reigning Olympic and French Open doubles champion Marc Lopez, who does not play singles anymore, the 19-year-old Nagal dominated the proceedings under muggy conditions before losing 3-6 6-1 3-6 in the dead fourth rubber, that lasted more than two hours. It was a mountainous task for Ramkumar Ramanathan to prevent a clean sweep since he had world number 13 David Ferrer as his opponent. The Spaniard cruised to a 6-2 6-2 win to complete a dominating 5-0 win for his side even as Ramkumar fought his heart out, giving his all.
An erratic Yuki Bhambri paid for his unforced errors as he was knocked out of the Chennai Open with a straight sets defeat against world number 47 Benoit Paire.
India's World Group hopes suffered a huge setback as Rohan Bopanna and Purav Raja lost the crucial doubles rubber to hand Canada a 2-1 lead in the Davis Cup Play-off tie, in Edmonton, on Sunday.
Only three active players -- Novak Djokovic (1080), Nadal (804) and Roger Federer (742) -- have more singles victories than him in world tennis. All this means that David Ferrer has won the most number of matches on the ATP Tour without a Grand Slam title.
The Indian Davis Cup team is set for a battle of gigantic proportions as it takes on five-time champions Spain, who have packed the side with world class performers headlined by the legendary Rafael Nadal in their desperation to reclaim a spot in the elite World Group.
Sumit Nagal lived a dream when he took on one of the greatest players of all time at a packed Arthur Ashe stadium in a US Open first-rounder.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday