India were on Tuesday pitted against European powerhouse Spain as their Davis Cup World Group play-off opponents for the home tie as the International Tennis Federation announced the draw in London.
Coming into the tournament 21st in the WTA rankings, the Czech won 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in two hours and 16 minutes to add to her triumph in St Petersburg earlier this month.
Tennis ace Sania Mirza expressed happiness over India winning five medals at the recently-concluded Asian Games at Incheon, although she felt many people did not expect them to do well with the team the country had sent.
Playing only his second junior Grand Slam, 17-year-old won 7-5, 6-3
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
'The boys have hit a lot of balls and are feeling good, so we are looking forward to the weekend' The Indian team, which had a week-long training camp in New York before reaching Edmonton, is set to make a fourth consecutive attempt to qualify for the elite World Group.
India's schedule for Thursday, the sixth day of competition at the Asian Games, in Incheon.
'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'
The Indian selectors reposed faith in Leander Paes as the 40-year-old veteran was on Saturday included in the Asian Games squad along with established stars Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna.
Top seeds Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis entered the final at the Madrid Open after a crushing 6-2, 6-0 victory over Vania King and Alla Kudryavtseva on Friday. It is the second successive final for the Indo-Swiss pair following the runners-up finish in Stuttgart.
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.
Zeeshan Ali, the captain and coach of the men's team, has no clue about Paes's arrival three days before the start of the competition on Sunday.
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.
eander Paes will make yet another attempt to set a Davis Cup record for the most doubles victories when India takes on China in a new two-day format for a place in the World Group Play-offs, in Tianjin, China, on Friday.
Bindra realistic after the Haryanvi takes a set off Federer in US Open first round.
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.
India saw a day of mixed fortunes at the Australian Open on Saturday as both, Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna won their respective doubles and mixed doubles matches to enter the third round of the opening Grand Slam of the year in Melbourne.
'To win a medal, the players will have to play a couple of tough rounds. The draws are fine, and balanced and give us the opportunity to go deep.'
Zeeshan Ali said Indian players are expected to do well in the World Group Play-off tie
The Indian Davis Cup team was staring at defeat at the zonal level for the first time in five years following shock defeats of Ramkumar Ramanathan and Sumit Nagal on the opening day of the second round tie against China, in Tianjin, on Friday.
India assured themselves of at least another silver medal in the 17th Asian Games after the trio of Abhishek Verma, Rajat Chauhan and Sandeep Kumar entered the final of the compound men's team archery event in Incheon on Thursday.
Nagal's court coverage and solid defence in long drawn points was the highlight of his win.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday
India's top singles player Somdev Devvarman's decision to concentrate on the ATP tour at the expense of the upcoming Asian Games has come under sharp criticism from the All India Tennis Federation.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday.'
Somdev Devverman kept India's hopes alive in the Davis Cup World Group play-off tie with a 7-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic, in Delhi, on Friday.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Tuesday
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.
Long-serving Leander Paes was, on Thursday, dropped for the first time in 27 years from India's Davis Cup squad as non-playing captain Mahesh Bhupathi picked Rohan Bopanna instead for the tie against Uzbekistan.
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India's schedule on the ninth day of the competitions at the Asian Games in Incheon on Sunday.
Widening its net, the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) has, for the first time ever, collected samples from close to 20 tennis players competing at the National Tennis Championships at DLTA Complex, in New Delhi.
The 29-year-old dismissed suggestions that his Australian Open appearance could motivate more players in the world's second-most populous country.
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.
India's Davis Cup captain Mahesh Bhupathi refused to reveal the doubles combination for the Davis Cup tie against Uzbekistan, asserting that focus should be on winning all the matches instead of obsessing over one.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
Gunning for yet another Grand Slam title, India's old war horse Leander Paes and his Czech partner Radek Stepanek have been seeded fifth at the Australian Open and they will open their campaign against Czech pair of Lukas Dlouhy and Lukas Rosol.
World number two Simona Halep beat Maria Sharapova 6-2, 6-2 in the China Open third round on Wednesday for her first win over the Russian in eight attempts.
Ramkumar Ramanathan, who will be playing singles alongside Prajnesh Gunneswaran, will form the second men's doubles pairing with Sumit Nagal, who arrived only late on Friday night.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday.
India's Davis Cup coach Zeeshan Ali feels that although world No 1 Novak Djokovic's participation will tilt the balance in Serbia's favour in the upcoming Davis Cup World Group play-off tie, it would be a tie worth remembering for the spectators.
