Rohan Bopanna and Ramkumar Ramanathan blew away their chances in the must-win doubles match as India lost the World Group I tie to Finland after conceding an unassailable 0-3 lead, in Espoo on Saturday.
The 29-year-old dismissed suggestions that his Australian Open appearance could motivate more players in the world's second-most populous country.
Indian tennis legend Leander Paes is set to play his last tournament on home soil as he was on Saturday handed a wild card entry in doubles for the third edition of Tata Open Maharashtra, beginning in Pune from February 3. The 46-year-old Paes and his partner Australian Mathew Ebden will face the pair of Divij Sharan and New Zealand's Artem Sitak in the first round.
AITA pairs him with Bopanna, withdraws Sharan
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.
While tennis is a lucrative sport for those at the top -- the 2020 Australian Open singles champions each took home A$4.12 million ($2.52 million) -- those in the lower echelons often struggle to make ends meet.
India's number one player Prajnesh Gunneswaran, who achieved career-high 102 ranking this week, has been drawn against 22-year-old debutant Matteo Berrettini in the second singles rubber at the Calcutta South Club grass courts.
India's Prajnesh Gunneswaran said he 'struggled a bit with the sun' and that it cost him a lot at the Australian Open, ending his maiden Grand Slam appearance in a first round exit.
Appearing in her third grand slam qualifiers, Ankita (ranked 205) got the better of Frenchwoman Myrtille Georges 6-2, 6-2 in her opening round.
Prajnesh Gunneswaran and Ramkumar Ramanathan will lead the singles challenge, while Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan will make the doubles pair for the grass court tie.
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 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.
Ramanathan, who is seeded 15th in the Qualifiers, lost 3-6, 4-6 to Italian Simone Bolleli, while 239th ranked Sumit Nagal, who is going through a rough patch, suffered his eighth straight first round defeat when he was thrashed 2-6, 0-6 by Poland's Kamil Majchrzak, ranked 192.
Ankita is now country's best-ranked singles (182) and doubles (95) player and is set to make her Olympic debut at the Tokyo Games next month.
After being left out of the Davis Cup for the first time in 27 years, an angry Paes had on Thursday lashed out at Bhupathi, accusing his former partner of flouting selection criteria.
Keeping in mind Italians' weakness on grass, India have opted for grass courts in South Club here for the February 1-2 fixtures which will be played in new format with the winners making a cut to the 18-nation finals in Madrid next year.
India's best player Yuki Bhambri is back in the squad and that changes the dynamics for the three-day rubber.
Nagal, who has played his best tennis this season, sent a confirmation to the All India Tennis Association (AITA) on Thursday night while Ramkumar had conveyed his availability a few days ago.
India's tennis players -- both current and former -- are not just counting financial losses as they cope with the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. The closure of the Pro Tour means that doubles exponent Purav Raja is set to lose at least $50,000 in this lockdown period, according to his own assessment. Prajnesh Gunneswaran, Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Divij Sharan can't exactly tell how much they would lose but considering the fact that they are consistently in contention to be in Grand Slam main draws, the massive financial hit is not difficult to assess.
Paes said he was pleased to see the manner in which Nagal handled himself against a great like Federer.
India's Sumit Nagal put up a strong fight before going down in three sets to Serbian Vicktor Troicki in the men's singles opening round in the third edition of the Tata Open Maharashtra, in Pune, on Monday.
'The most confusing part as a player is even though the entry deadline has passed for Olympics, we have no idea on what the exact cut off of rankings are.'
India's Nagal draws world No 128 Bradley Klahn in opener.
AITA said it had come up with an intermediate plan with the support of the country's government to reduce some of the pain for the lower-level professionals. India is currently in lockdown till May 3 and it was assumed that travel restrictions would be lifted in the next two months, the AITA said.
India woman's tennis ace, Sania Mirza continues to hold on to her be world number one ranking in doubles, thanks to her consistent performance.
Indian tennis player Sumit Nagal has withdrawn from the country's upcoming away Davis Cup tie against Finland citing a hip injury and has been replaced by Saketh Myneni in the five-man squad for the indoor contest on September 18-19.
Halep sustained the injury last month while training for the Wuhan Open, where she lost in the second round. She then retired midway through her opener in Shanghai.
The AITA selection committee, on Tuesday, decided to keep veteran Leander Paes in the five-member playing squad for the upcoming Davis Cup tie against Croatia, making Divij Sharan the reserve member.
Djere is ranked higher than Ramkumar at number 86 but is yet to win a match in Davis Cup. On the other side, Ramkumar is placed 135 in the world but is far more experienced, having played six ties with a 7-5 Win-Loss record.
Earlier this year, Jennifer Lopez and Shakira took the honors in a halftime show of girl power and Latina strength. Previous performers have included Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Prince and the Rolling Stones.
Leander Paes might team up with Ramkumar Ramnathan instead of Sumit Nagal in this month's Asian Games after captain Zeeshan Ali said he will consider the ATP World Tour finalist's request to pair up with the senior pro.
Wimbledon finalists Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer are on a semi-final collision course at the US Open after they were placed in the same half of the draw.
The All India Tennis Association has decided to invite India's top players for a training camp at the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association in New Delhi with an aim to provide a platform for their return to competitive action from next year.
Italy's Fabio Fognini said it was a 'strange feeling' playing a Davis Cup tie with no fans. Japan were also playing their tie against Ecuador in an empty stadium in Miki because of the coronavirus spread, which has played havoc with sporting fixtures across the world.
India's leading players Prajnesh Gunneswaran and Sumit Nagal lost in the pre-quarter-finals, ending India's challenge in the men's singles, of the Bengaluru Open, in Bengaluru, on Thursday.
Rohit Rajpal will continue as India's non-playing captain. He took over as captain last year after the country's top players and then captain Mahesh Bhupathi refused to travel to Pakistan in November. India is scheduled to travel to Croatia for their next tie on March 6 and 7.
Leander Paes became the most successful player in the history of Davis Cup as he combined with Rohan Bopanna to not only grab a record 43rd win but also bring India back in tie against China, in Tianjin, on Saturday.
India's Davis Cup Captain Mahesh Bhupathi picked Rohan Bopanna for the Davis Cup match against Uzbekistan in Bengaluru.
Earning a dream Grand Slam debut for himself, Indian tennis player Sumit Nagal set up a US Open first round clash against the legendary Roger Federer, one of the greatest players of all-time, on Monday.
Following is India's schedule on Day 2 of competitions at the 18th Asian Games on Monday.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances