Tennis News

At $1M Brisbane International, Australia (WTA Premier)

Doubles Final
(1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Martina Hingis (SUI) bt (WC) Angelique Kerber (GER)/ Andrea Petkovic (GER) 75 61

Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza won their 10th WTA doubles title together in Brisbane and have now won 26 matches in a row - the longest doubles win streak in 22 years ... Now they r shy of 3 wins from all-time record by Gigi Fernández and Natasha Zvereva, who won 28 matches in a row together in 1994.

In the final German pair was leading 4-2 at one time but after that Sania-Martina responded strongly after winning off 11 of the last 13 games of the match for straight sets win.

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At $425,535 Chennai Open, India

[SF] (WC) Somdev Devvarman (IND)/ Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND) l Austin Krajicek (USA)/ Benoit Paire (FRA) 57 67(4)

Indian challenge get over with Buji and Jeevan's loss in the doubles ... After losing the first set Buji-Jeevan were early break down at 2-3 when Buji lost his serve ... Our pair fought back to take the set in tie-break ... But Krajicek-Paire's experience helped them for completing the victory.

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At $$753K Apia International Sydney, Australia (WTA Premier)

[R1] (1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Martina Hingis (SUI) vs Anastasia Rodionova (AUS)/ Arina Rodionova (AUS)

Sania-Martina r facing Rodionova sis in the first round of Sydney tournament.

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At $405K Apia International Sydney, Australia

[R1] (4) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Florin Meargea (ROM) vs Denis Istomin (UZB)/ Henri Kontinen (FIN)

Rohan is starting 2016 season from Sydney tournament.

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At $50K+H Bangkok II Challenger, Thailand

[Q1] (5) Vijay Sunder Prashanth (IND,378) bt Jui Chen Hung (TPE,601) 64 62
[Q1] Sasi Kumar Mukund (IND,552) l (6) Cheong-Eui Kim (KOR,379) 63 67(6) 16

[Q2] (5) Vijay Sunder Prashanth (IND,378) l Yuva Kibi (JPN,664) 57 16

[R1] (6) Sanam Singh (IND,278) vs Aleksandre Metreveli (GEO,310)

Doubles Final
[R1] Sanam Singh (IND)/ Fabrice Martin (FRA) vs (4) Ken Skupski (GBR)/ Neal Skupski (GBR) [R1] Frantisek Cermak (CZE))/ Divij Sharan (IND) vs (WC) Toshihide Matsui (JPN)/ Kittipong Wachiramanowong (THA)
[R1] (PR) Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) vs (2) Marcelo Demoliner (BRA)/ Igor Zelenay (SVK)

Not a great start of the year 201 for VSP ... Sanam having decent draw and facing similar ranked opponent in the first round.

In the doubles solid draw as good pairing r participating ... Interesting to see Mahesh's comeback as here he is playing with Purav.

Tennis News

At $1M Brisbane International, Australia (WTA Premier)

[R1] (1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Martina Hingis (SUI) bt Shahar Peer (ISR)/ Maria Sanchez (USA) 61 62
[QF] (1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Martina Hingis (SUI) bt Belinda Bencic (SUI)/ Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) 63 46 10-6
[SF] (1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Martina Hingis (SUI) bt (4) Andreja Klepac (SLO)/ KUDRYAVTSEVA, Alla Kudryavtseva (RUS) 63 75

[F] (1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Martina Hingis (SUI) vs (WC) Angelique Kerber (GER)/ Andrea Petkovic (GER)

Sania and Martina r in the final of the first tournament of 2016 with their amazing winning streak ... In the quarters young Swiss-French pair stretched them to super tie-break but they survived ... In the final they r facing good wild-card German pairing of Angelique Kerber and Andrea Petkovic.

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At $425,535 Chennai Open, India

[QF] (WC) Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,248) l Alijaz Bedene (GBR,45) 76(5) 46 36

Doubles
[QF] (WC) Somdev Devvarman (IND)/ Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND) bt (WC) N. Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND) 64 16 10-6

Though RamK lose this match but still I am predicting that he is truly arrived on the tour ... This match was 2 hours and Till first and 3/4th second set RamK was matching Bedene or I can say he was better at sometime ... In the first set Bedene saved a break point but other hand RamK was solid ... He played excellent game for winning this set in tie-break ... In the second set also RamK was matching Bedene and played some breathtaking shots while approaching the net or with his fearsome forehands ... He had 2 break point chances in 7th game at 15-40 but RamK missed this opportunity ... Bedene took advantage of it breaking RamK in 10th game for winning the set ... In the final set RamK got broken in 2nd game and was down early 0-3 ... And after that Bedene played solid tennis on his service games but in 9th game when Bedene serving for the match RamK managed to put pressure on him ... RamK saved four match points but in end Bedene converted fifth match point.

Buji-Jeevan score a win in super tie-break against RamK and Bala for entering into the semis.

Tennis News

At $425,535 Chennai Open, India

[R2] (WC) Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,248) bt (LL) Alexander Kudryavstev (RUS,164) 36 64 64

[QF] (WC) Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,248) vs Alijaz Bedene (GBR,45)

Doubles
[QF] (2) Marcel Granollers (ESP)/ Leander Paes (IND) l Austin Krajicek (USA)/ Benoit Paire (FRA)

Excellent comeback upset win by RamK over Kudryavstev ... In the first set RamK struggled with his own game to lose it ... From the second set he recovered ... He took important break in 7th game to lead 4-3 and then hold his service games for taking the set in the decider ... In the final set also RamK broke Kudryavstev in 7th game and then hold his service games ... This is first ATP quarter final for RamK and he is facing top-50 British player Alijaz Bedene.

In the doubles Lee and Marcel concede their match due to illness to Marcel.

Tennis News

At $425,535 Chennai Open, India

[R2] (WC) Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,248) vs (LL) Alexander Kudryavstev (RUS,164)

Doubles
[R1] (WC) Somdev Devvarman (IND)/ Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND) bt Nicholas Monroe (USA)/ Hans Podlipnik-Castillo (CHI) 46 63 10-5
[R1] (WC) N. Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND) bt (4) Marcus Daniel (NZL)/ Artem Sitak (NZL) 26 76(5) 10-5

[QF] (WC) Somdev Devvarman (IND)/ Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND) vs (WC) N. Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND)

Kevin Andersen withdrew so RamK will play lucky loser Russian Alexander Kudryavstev.
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In the doubles our both wild-card pairs start with upset comeback win over their seasoned opponents ... Next they will face eachother for place in the semis.

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At $50K+H Bangkok Challenger, Thailand

[R1] Purav Raja (IND)/ Divij Sharan (IND) l (4) Ken Skupski (GBR)/ Neal Skupski (GBR) 36 67(4)

So Skupski brothers prove better pair for Divij and Purav but I feel they need to stick together for getting their rhythm back.

Tennis News

At $425,535 Chennai Open, India

[R1] (Q) Somdev Devvarman (IND,177) l (WC) Andrey Rublev (RUS,185) 36 63 36
[R1] (WC) Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,248) bt Daniel Gimeno-Traver (ESP,98) 62 60

[R2] (WC) Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,248) vs (2) Kevin Anderson (RSA,12)

Doubles
[R1] (2) Marcel Granollers (ESP)/ Leander Paes (IND) bt (ALT) Taro Daniel (JPN)/ John Millman (AUS) 62 63

RamK scores dominating win over top-100 SpanishDaniel Gimeno-Traver ... Gimeno-Traver never was in the match ... He struggled with his shot making and RamK took full advantage of it ... RamK won last 8 games in a trot for a win in 58 minutes ... In the second round he is facing top-15 Kevin Anderson.

Buji lose winnable match against lower ranked Russian in three sets ... In the first set Buji was 3-1 up before losing 5 games in a row to lose this set ... Buji fought back to win the second set but he made too many unforced errors in the third and that cost him the match ... Buji is showing improvement in his game from 2015 but need more consistency in his performance.

Lee with Marcel Granollers start with straight sets win over alternate pair.

Tennis News

At $425,535 Chennai Open, India

[R1] (PR) Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Gilles Muller (LUX) l (1) Raven Klaasen (RSA)/ Rajeev Ram (USA) 36 76(2) 7-10

Surprisingly fighting performance by Mahesh with Muller against top-seed till super tie-break.

Tennis News

At $425,535 Chennai Open, India

[Q2] (WC) N. Sriram Balaji (IND,538) l (PR) Ante Pavic (CRO,449) 67(2) 67(0)
[Q2] (6) Somdev Devvarman (IND,177) bt (2) James Ward (GBR,156) 26 75 64
[Q2] (5) Saketh Myneni (IND,170) l (3) Thomas Fabbiano (ITA,157) 46 26

[R1] (Q) Somdev Devvarman (IND,177) vs (WC) Andrey Rublev (RUS,185)

Buji scores superb comeback victory over 2nd seed James Ward to qualify for main-draw but our Saki and Bala lose their respective matches.

Buji lost the first set convincingly and was down 1-3 in the second set ... From here Buji made amazing comeback he broke James in 5th game to bring the set on the serve, 2-3 and then took crucial break in 11th game before holding his serve for winning this set ... In the final set Buji broke James in 1st and 3rd games to lead 4-0 ... While serving for the match at 5-2 Buji failed to hold his serve but in 10th game he comfortably hold for important win ... After so-so 2015 Buji started working with his new coach and friend Theodoros Angelinos, who gave new diet plan and fitness regime ... So this is their first test and Buji is started well ... Hoping for few more wins in main-draw for Buji ... He is facing Russian wild-card player Andrey Rublev in the first round.

Bala gave fighting performance in his loss against Pavic ... After losing the first set Bala saved couple of match point in 10th game on his serve ... Bala broke Pavic in 11th game to lead 6-5 but failed to hold for winning the second set ... Pavic didn't gave any chance in tie-break and won it without losing a single point ... Still decent performance by Bala.

I was hoping better result from Saki in this match ... But he struggled with his first serve, only 40% in the match and 33% in the second ... And that cost him the match.

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At $50K+H Bangkok Challenger, Thailand

[R1] Purav Raja (IND)/ Divij Sharan (IND) vs (4)Ken Skupski (GBR)/ Neal Skupski (GBR)

Purav and Divij r together for Bangkok challenger and facing Skupski brothers in the first round.

Tennis News

At $421K Chennai Open, India

[Q1] (WC) N. Sriram Balaji (IND,538) bt (7) Hans Podlipnik-Castillo (CHI,190) 62 64
[Q1] Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND,428) l (2) James Ward (GBR,156) 46 36
[Q1] (6) Somdev Devvarman (IND,177) bt N. Vijay Sundar Prashanth (IND,378) 62 63
[Q1] (5) Saketh Myneni (IND,170) bt Sanam Singh (IND,278) 62 64
[Q1] (WC) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,484) l (8) Jozef Kovalik (SVK,259) 36 06

[Q2] (WC) N. Sriram Balaji (IND,538) vs (PR) Ante Pavic (CRO,449)
[Q2] (6) Somdev Devvarman (IND,177) vs (2) James Ward (GBR,156)
[Q2] (5) Saketh Myneni (IND,170) vs (3) Thomas Fabbiano (ITA,157)

[R1] (WC) Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,248) vs Daniel Gimeno-Traver (ESP,98)

Doubles
[R1] (PR) Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Gilles Muller (LUX) vs (1) Raven Klaasen (RSA)/ Rajeev Ram (USA)
[R1] (WC) Somdev Devvarman (IND)/ Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND) vs Nicholas Monroe (USA)/ Hans Podlipnik-Castillo (CHI)
[R1] (WC) N. Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND) vs (4) Oliver Marach (AUT)/ Fabrice Martin (FRA)
[R1] (2) Marcel Granollers (ESP)/ Leander Paes (IND) vs Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP)/ Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI)

Crap draw for Indian players as they r facing each other ... I was hoping lot closer matches between Buji against VSP and Saki against Sanam ... But our top-200 players show superiority over their country men for comfortable straight sets win ... Bala starts with dominating upset win over top-200 Chilean opponent.

Next Bala is facing Croatian Ante Pavic, who scores upset win over top-seed and in form Elias Ymer ... Buji is facing 2nd seed Britisher James Ward ... Saki is facing 3rd seed Italian Thomas Fabbiano.

In main-draw RamK is having decent draw as he is facing 98th ranked Spanish Daniel Gimeno-Traver .

In the doubles Mahesh is participating with protected ranking with Muller and they r facing top-seed pair ... Buji and Jeevan having decent draw but Bala and RamK r facing 4th seed pair ... 2nd seed Lee and Granollers r having tricky match against Stan and Garcia-Lopez.

Tennis News

At $421K Chennai Open, India

I am really disappointed by Chennai open organizers ... Only ATP world tour tournament in the country and they gives only one wild card for Indian ... After Yuki's withdrawal we need some main-draw presence but only RamK has given wild card for the singles ... Balaji partnering RamK and Jeevan partnering Buji r two wild-cards in the doubles ... Lee is playing with Spanish partner Marcel Granollers in the doubles.

In the qualifying Prajnesh and VSP receive wild-card so they will join Saki, Buji and Sanam in the qualifying draw ... Here also surprise by selection of wild-cards as young Sumit Nagal was deserving option.