Defending champion Rohan Bopanna went down fighting in the thrilling doubles opening round game at the third edition of Tata Open Maharashtra, in Pune, on Wednesday. Playing alongside local boy Arjun Kadhe, the ace Indian player Bopanna dominated the game initially. However, after winning the first set convincingly, the Indian duo couldn't manage to continue the momentum further in the games against French pair of Benoit Paire and Antoine Hoang as they lost the match 3-6, 7-5, 10-7.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday
Sania Mirza and her doubles partner Martina Hingis were ousted from the Rogers Cup after the top seeds suffered a straight sets loss to Caroline Garcia and Katarina Srebotnik in Toronto on Saturday.
Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek went through several anxious moments before getting the better of Daniele Bracciali and Jonathan Erlich in the first round of the men's doubles at Wimbledon on Friday, even as the pair of Mahesh Bhupathi and Daniela Hantuchova lost in the mixed doubles
Six-time Australian Open champion Djokovic pulled out of a tournament in Abu Dhabi last week because of continuing problems with his right elbow and wore a sleeve over the joint during his round robin match against the Austrian.
Top seed and defending champion Roger Federer returned to form to beat Japan's Kei Nishikori 6-4, 7-6(4) and reach the Shanghai Masters semi-finals on Friday.
A look at the records of Spain's Rafael Nadal and Serbia's Novak Djokovic before their title clash at the Australian Open on Sunday (prefix number denotes seeding):
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza suffered a 6-2, 6-4 defeat at the hands of unseeded Czech Barbora Strycova in the second round of the Nature Valley Classic in Birmingham on Thursday.
We should all bow before the legend that is Leander, says Rahul Jacob.
World number one Simona Halep swatted aside American Nicole Gibbs while Maria Sharapova was flawless in her straight sets victory over Romania's Mihaela Buzarnescu in the opening round of the Shenzhen Open on Monday.
Caroline Wozniacki overcame a mid-match wobble and withstood a barrage of big hitting to get her WTA Finals title defence back on track with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 victory over Petra Kvitova at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Most expressed shock and a degree of sympathy for Maria Sharapova others were less charitable.
IMAGES from the Australian Open matches played on Monday
Defending champion Donna Vekic, of Croatia, earned a hard-fought win over British wild card Gabriella Taylor 7-5, 5-7, 7-6(3).
Naomi Osaka continued her stunning run of form with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over 23-times Grand Slam champion Serena Williams in the first round of the Miami Open on Wednesday, the latest big win for the 20-year-old Japanese player.
No current athlete in the world of sport can match the 31-year-old for reliability at present and the American, despite a brief blip, eased past Luxembourg's Mandy Minella 6-1, 6-3.
Leander Paes got the better of compatriot Mahesh Bhupathi in a thrilling mixed doubles encounter to enter the third round at the Australian Open, in Melbourne, on Monday. He and Daniela Hantuchova beat eighth seeds Bhupathi and Elena Vesnina 6-0, 2-6, 10-6.
A refreshed Roger Federer's clinical demolition of Jarkko Nieminen in his first match of 2014 suggested he could be a factor in the first major of the year.
IMAGES from the Australian Open on Tuesday.
IMAGES of the all the action from Day 1 of the Australian Open played at Melbourne Park on Monday
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