Even a second-string Serbia proved a mighty opponent as Yuki Bhambri and Somdev Devvarman suffered crushing singles defeats to leave India trailing 0-2 on the opening day of the Davis Cup World Group play-off tie in Bangalore.
India was left to battle it out in the Asian zone yet again after Ramkumar Ramanathan's defeat in the must-win fourth rubber of the Davis Cup match against Canada's Denis Shapovalov in Edmonton, on Sunday.
Holder and World number 17 Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland faces a daunting task to retain his title as the 17th edition of ATP Chennai Open unfolds, on Monday, promising a keen tussle among top players.
None of the remaining three Indians, including Rohan Bopanna, could make the main singles draw of the Aircel Chennai Open. All of them suffered defeats in the second round of the qualifying event, on Sunday.
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.
Sanam Singh qualified for the men's singles main draw of the Asia-Pacific Australian Open wild card play-off tournament after edging past Yuqing Ning in a tough three-setter and entered the doubles quarter-finals with compatriot N Sriram Balaji Nanjing on Wednesday.
It will be the beginning of a new era in Indian tennis when a young Davis Cup team, sans all the proven stars, battles it out against New Zealand to stay in the Asia Oceania Group I.
Expected to be called-up if the All India Tennis Association decides to send two men's doubles teams to the Olympics in its bid to resolve the selection crisis, Vishnu Vardhan said he is ready for the challenge.
Saketh Myneni got himself in line for two gold medals by reaching the finals of both men's doubles and mixed doubles events even as other Indian tennis players, including Sania Mirza, clinched three bronze at the Asian Games in Incheon on Sunday.
India's non-playing captain Anand Amritraj was upbeat ahead of the Asia Oceania Group I Davis Cup tie against New Zealand, to be played in Pune from February 3 to 5, but cautioned the Kiwis should not be taken lightly.
Wild card Harsh Mankad won the US $10,000 ITF singles event in Chandigarh after his opponent in the final, Rohan Bopanna, pulled out due to a knee injury. The victory gave Mankad his second crown, having won the doubles title along with Rupesh Roy at the CLTA Complex on Friday.
Second seed Somdev Devvarman suffered a shock defeat at the hands of lower-ranked Australian Chris Guccione to bow out of singles but progressed to the doubles semi-finals of the ATP Challenger event in Charlottesville.
India had a fruitful day at the Australian Open as Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi stormed into the quarterfinals while top seeds Leander Paes and Zimbabwean Cara Black advanced to the second round of the mixed doubles in Melbourne on Sunday.
Somdev Devvarman could not qualify for the Wimbledon singles but that did affect his rankings as the Indian rose a rung to career-best 103 in the latest ATP list issued on Monday.
India's Somdev Devvarman went down to third seed Ukrainian Illya Marchenko 4-6, 3-6 in the second round of the qualifiers as India's campaign ended at the US $3,645,000 Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, on Tuesday. Somdev, who overcame David Guez of France in the first round of the qualifying stage, put up a spirited fight against Marchenko but the Ukrainian managed to get better of him.
Earlier, compatriots Yuki Bhambri and Somdev Devvarman had also crashed out of the premier grass-court championship.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Sunday
Sumit Nagal made a comeback to the Indian Davis Cup team for the away World Group I tie against Norway while doubles specialist Divij Sharan was dropped after falling behind in the pecking order, on Thursday.
When contacted, AITA Secretary General Anil Dhupar said he does not have any objection to Bopanna playing with Balaji, ranked 84, at the Paris Olympics.
Wrestler Kadian Satywart won a bronze in 100kg freestyle event, while shuttler H S Pronnoy and tennis star Yuki Bhambri kept their medal hopes alive as Indians had a good day in office in the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in Singapore on Tuesday.
Somdev Devvarman, who became the first Indian to qualify for the French Open main draw in 13 years, rose to a career-best 104th in the ATP rankings issued on Monday.
Leander Paes made a return while Yuki Bhambri was left out of a five-member Indian squad picked for the Davis Cup World Group first round tie against Russia in Moscow from March 5-7.
Somdev Devvarman kept the Indian hopes alive and is now just one step away from the Australian Open singles main draw after his three-set win against Germany's Tobias Kamke at Melbourne on Friday.
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.
Prajnesh Gunneswaran emerged as the only Indian to manage a win in the singles main draw of the Bengaluru Open as Ramkumar Ramanathan and Arjun Kadhe made first-round exits.
Three Indians, including top seed Rohan Bopanna, stormed into the singles semifinals of the $ 10,000 India F5 Futures ITF Men's Circuit being played at the CLTA Stadium in Chandigarh on Thursday.
India's new hero Somdev Devvarman climbed up two places to 131 in the latest ATP rankings while Sania Mirza dropped two spots to 65 in the WTA list.
India has never beaten Sweden in five attempts in the Davis Cup.
Davis Cup: Ramkumar to lead Indian challenge against Pakistan on grass courts
Rohan Gajjar and Purav Raja advanced to the doubles second round of the USD 10,000 ITF tennis event after registering a comfortable straight sets victory at the CLTA stadium on Monday. The third-seeded pair beat Vijayant Malik and Yannick Nelord 6-4, 6-2 in the first round match.
Prakash Amritraj and national champion Vishnu Vardhan were awarded wildcards for the 2008 Chennai Open.
Karan Rastogi was 6-5, 5-7, 1-3 down against Purav Raja when he suffered cramps and had to quit in the qualifying round at the ATP Mumbai Open.
Top seed Somdev Devvarman struggled past Ramkumar Ramanathan, who was troubled by cramps, but Yuki Bhambri made a fluent start with a straight sets victory in the US$ 50,000 ATP Challenger event, in Chennai.
Home sensation and wild card entrant Yuki Bhambri sprung a surprise by upsetting higher-rated Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain to enter the second round even as compatriot Somdev Devvarman made a shocking first round exit at the ATP Chennai Open.
Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi rallied to beat the Canadian duo of Aleksandra Wozniak and Daniel Nestor and seal a semi-final berth in the mixed doubles event at the Australian Open in Melbourne on Wednesday. The unseeded Indian pair overcame a first-set lapse to carve out a 3-6, 6-4, 10-5 win in one hour and 15 minutes.
It was a bad day for Indians at the $ 10,000 ITF men's event as all of them bowed out of the singles event after losing their second round matches.
Former Davis Cup captain Anand Amritraj is baffled that India's best singles players are not able to win close matches on the ATP World Tour despite having a decent game to back them.
Shifting of India's only ATP event from Chennai to Pune after 21 years has disappointed the Amritraj brothers.
Leander Paes regained his place in the top-50, courtesy a Challenger title win at the Newport Beach event. The triumph took the veteran Indian tennis star 14 places up, to 47 in the latest rankings, issued on Monday.
The Indian challenge at the $2.2 million Dubai Tennis Championships ended with Rohan Bopanna and his partner suffering a shock first round exit in the men's doubles in Dubai on Wednesday.
