Tennis News
At $2M Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships,

[R1] Sania Mirza (IND,87) bt Ekaterina Makarova (RUS,53) 75 62
[R2] Sania Mirza (IND,87) vs (16) Kaia Kanepi (EST,24)

Creditable win in 1 hour 28 mins ... Reason was, Sania played final at Pattaya Open and then flew to Dubai to play her first round match in 24 hours ... In the first set both players had 5 break point chances ... Makarova converted 2 of them but Sania converted 3 of them to win the first set ... In the second set Makarova had 3 break point chances and converted only one ... Other hand sania created 9 breaking opportunities and converted 3 of them ... Sania's first serve percentage was 63% ... Today she is having match against top-25 player Estonian Kaia Kanepi.
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Golf News
At AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am - Final Standing

T33 Arjun Atwal 68 73 71 -4

The final-round was officially cancelled on Monday due to unplayable conditions, as rain Sunday and overnight Monday measured 1.32 inches ... So Arjun didn't get chance to improve on his third round standing, but still best performance for him in 2009 PGA tour season.

Tennis News
At $600K SAP Open, San Jose, California , USA

[F] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) l Tommy Haas (GER)/ Radek Stepanek (CZE) 26 36

In end very easy victory for Hass and Stepanek in 51 mins ... In the final, pair of Bops and Nieminen couldn't saved a single break point on their own serve, their serve was broken 4 times ... They only managed to break Haas and Stepanek serve once in three chances ... With this win Radek Stepanek captured double crown at San Jose.
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At $2M Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships,

[R1] Sania Mirza (IND,87) vs Ekaterina Makarova (RUS,53)

Doubles
[R1] Sania Mirza (IND)/ Mara Santangelo (ITA) vs Urszula Radwanska (POL)/ Stefanie Voegele (SUI)

As expected Sania moved back into top-100 after reaching final of Pattaya tournament ... She climbed 39 places to rank #87 ... Sania having tough schedule after yesterday's final in Thailand today she is playing her first round match at Dubai Open in the evening session.
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At $25K Surprise Tournament, Arizona, USA

[Q1] UBEROI Shikha (IND,606) l STEPHENS Sloane (USA,500) 26 63 06

Disappointing loss against 16 yrs old girl ... May be difference was in ranking but Shikha was definitely better player than lost against this 16 yrs old American.

Tennis News
At $220K PTT Pattaya Women's Open, Thailand

[F] Sania Mirza (IND,126) l (1) Vera Zvonareva (RUS,5) 57 16

In this match Sania committed 21 UFEs and 4 DFs ... But still Sania produced creditable performance in the first set, where she matched WR #5 in all aspect of games ... But after losing first set suddenly everything changed and Sania's game fall apart ... May be after long injury break playing so many matches in a week take toll on Sania, mostly she need to put extra work on physical conditioning ... But importantly her game is back on track, so if she remain injury-free I have no doubt that Sania will be in top 50 in next few tournaments.
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At € 1.445M ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament, Rotterdam, Netherlands

[F] (2) Leander Paes (IND)/ Lukas Dlouhy (CZE) l (1) Daniel Nestor (CAN) / Nenad Zimonjic (SRB) 26 57

Again Lee and Lukas lost in the final, this time Lee's old nemesis Zimo ... After losing first set easily they fought brilliantly in the second ... But Nestor and Zimo won 12th game breaking Lee's serve when Lee had game point ... The Serbian-Canadian duo saved all six break points they faced while also breaking serve three times – including in the final game of the match – to secure their fifth victory (5-0 record) over Dlouhy and Paes in 63 minutes.
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Golf News
At Maybank Malaysian Open - Final Standing

T2 Jyoti Randhawa 71 69 66 66 -16 $133,055.00
T21 Shiv Kapur 70 69 66 74 - 9 $ 20,800.00
T69 S S P Chowrasia 69 74 75 73 + 3 $ 3,725.00

Jyoti produced another 6 under final round and missed the tie for top position by 1 shot ... Great stuff ... Hoping Jyoti is coming back in the form.

Tennis News
At € 1.445M ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament, Rotterdam, Netherlands

[SF] (2) Leander Paes (IND)/ Lukas Dlouhy (CZE) bt (4) Julian Knowle (AUT)/ Andy Ram (ISR) 62 76(4)

[F] (2) Leander Paes (IND)/ Lukas Dlouhy (CZE) vs (1) Daniel Nestor (CAN) / Nenad Zimonjic (SRB)

Another good straight sets win for Lee and Lukas ... After winning first set easily they were stetched in the second set to tie-break ... But they prevailed over 4th seed pair in 1 hour 14 minutes ... Both pair faced 4 break point chances, but Lee-Lukas managed to save 3 and Knowle-Ram pair managed to save only 1.

In the final Lee facing his old nemesis Zimo with their respective partners.
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At $600K SAP Open, San Jose, California , USA

[SF] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) bt (4) Stephen Huss (AUS) / Ross Hutchins (GBR) 36 76(5) 10(5)

[F] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) vs Tommy Haas (GER) / Radek Stepanek (CZE)

Rohan and Jarkko showed their yesterday's win against Bryans wasn't fluke in their comeback win against 4th seed pair of Huss and Hutchins ... Yesterday also they saved total 6 break-point chances from 9 they faced in the match ... Other hand Huss and Hutchins faced only 3 break point chances and managed to save 1 ... In crucial second set Rohan and Jarkko saved 5 break points from 6 ... And again they showed their supremecy in super tie-break with their huge serves.


In the final they r facing another unseeded pair of Hass and Stepanek.
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Golf News
At AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am - Third Round

T33 Arjun Atwal 68 73 71 -4
------------- cut @ -1 ---------------
T109 Daniel Chopra (PH) 75 71 73 +3
T146 Vijay Singh (PH) 72 75 75 +6

Arjun started from back 9 at Poppy Hills and was 3 under for the day scoring birdies on 12th, 14th and 16th holes after completing back 9 ... But he struggled on front 9 scoring back to back bogeys on 2nd and 3rd, after that on 7th hole ... He managed to end day on positive note scoring birdie on last hole.

Daniel and Vijay had forgettable AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am tournament as both ended well below the cut-line.

Tennis News
At $220K PTT Pattaya Women's Open, Thailand

[SF] Sania Mirza (IND,126) bt (8) Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK,51) 64 57 61

[F] Sania Mirza (IND,126) vs (1) Vera Zvonareva (RUS,5)

Doubles
[SF] (3) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Mara Santangelo (ITA) l (2) Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ)/ Tamarine Tanasugarn (THA) 62 26 (7)10

Another win against top-50 player, this time Slovakian Rybarikova ... Sania scored easy victory in third after dog fight in first 2 sets to moved into the final ... This win push her ranking around top-90 ... Sania is looking very egar to reach inside top 50 ... In the final she is facing WR #5 Vera Zvonareva, against her Sania have won the match in 2005 ... But these days Vera really play like top-5 player, very tough match up for Sania.

I missed to follow this match but after looking statistics it must be one helluva match ... In this match Sania's 1st serve percentage was very good, 67% ... In the first set Sania had 3 break point chances and she converted 2 ... Rybarikova converted 1 from 1 ... In this set Sania won 33 pts and Rybarikova 24 pts ... In the second set exactly opposite story, Sania converted 1 from 1 and Rybarikova converted 2 from 2 ... Sania managed to win 32 pts and Rybarikova won 39 pts ... Sania was serving for the match at 5-4 but then suddenly her serve stopped working and she lost next 4 games (from 5-3) to lose set ... But in the decider Sania came back strongly ... She didn't face a single break point, other hand converted 2 of 2 on Rybarikova serve ... Sania won 30 pts and Rybarikova managed only 17 in this 2 hours 1 minute match.

But Sania couldn't manage to continued her good performance in doubles ... She and Mara lost their semi-final match against 2nd seed in super tie-break after winning the first set in 1 hour 17 minutes.
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At $600K SAP Open, San Jose, California , USA

[QF] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) bt (1) Bob Bryan (USA)/ Mike Bryan (USA) 64 46 10(5)

[SF] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) vs (4) Stephen Huss (AUS) / Ross Hutchins (GBR)

What a win for Rohan and Jarkko ... Win against WR #1 pair will be huge boost for Rohan's doubles career ... Hopefully Rohan and Jarkko encourage to play more with eachother after this win.

Rohan and Jarkko won this match in 1 hour and 21 minutes ... Rohan and Jarkko saved 12 break point chances on their serve from 13, other hand Bryans saved 2 from 3 chances ... In the first set Bops and Jarkko saved all 7 break points and converted 1 chance which they got ... In second set Bryans saved all 2 break points and they converted 1 from 6 chances ... But this powerful serving team easily won super tie-break with their game.

Tennis News
At $220K PTT Pattaya Women's Open, Thailand

[QF] Sania Mirza (IND,126) bt (6) Tamarine Tanasugarn (THA,41) 75 64
[SF] Sania Mirza (IND,126) vs (7) Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK,51)

First Set
SM started match with serve and easily hold on luv.
1-0 SM converted 2nd bp to take early lead after duece
2-0 TT broke SM's serve on 3rd bp SM saved 2 bps from 15-40
2-1 TT hold @ 30 from 0-30 down
2-2 SM struggling with her first serve percentage again (below 40%) she was down 15-40, then she won next 2 pts to make it duece, TT captured another bp but SM saved that also and then won next 2 pts to won this important game
3-2 SM breaks TT serve on second bp @ 30
4-2 Again TT had 2 bps and SM saved them to duece, but again TT cptured 3rd bp and converted it to break back
4-3 TT hold @ 30
4-4 SM had couple of game points but TT converted 1st bp to take important lead ... Sm's 1st serve percetage hurting her, 43% ... SM need to break back to remain in this first set
4-5 SM was leading 0-30 then had bp @ 30-40 but TT saved 1st bp ... SM again created opportunity and converted to break ... C'mon Sania
5-5 SM serve her 1st ace of the match in this game and hold it @ 30
6-5 Sm had 2 set points @ 15-40, TT saved first but SM converted second to pocket first set after 1 hour.
7-5

I feel Sania was lucky to win this first set after 48% 1st serve percentage against top-50 player ... She need to tighten up her service game but after few matches under her belt she will overcome this problem.

1st set stat
SM - 1st serve percentage 48%, Aces 1, DFs 2, BPs converted 4 of 9
TT - 1st serve percentage 69%, Aces 1, DFs 1, BPs converted 3 of 10
Total points won - SM 47 pts and TT 41 pts

Second Set
SM hold her serve @ 15, good start on her own service game
1-0 TT hold @ 15
1-1 SM hold @ luv with 2 aces
2-1 TT hold @ 30
2-2 SM hold after duece, SM served 2 DFs in this game and saved 1 bp, improved 1st serve percentage for SM 65%
3-2 TT hold after duece
3-3 SM served an ace but TT grabbed another bp @ 30-40 ... SM saved it and hold
4-3 SM responded strongly and broke TT's serve @ 15 ... Now serving for the match.
5-3 SM needed to hold her serve to win this match ... But was broken on luv, had 1 DF .. Again back on serve
5-4 SM was leading 15-30 after TT's DF, but TT won next 2 pts ... SM saved couple of game points and then create her first match-point ... TT saved first MP but couldn't save second MP .. Sania won in 1 hour and 45 minutes.
6-4

Improved 2nd set stat
SM - 1st serve percentage 62%, Aces 3, DFs 3, BPs converted 2 of 3
TT - 1st serve percentage 61%, Aces 0, DFs 2, BPs converted 1 of 3
Total points won - SM 35 pts and TT 30 pts

In semis Sania is facing 7th seed Slovakian Magdalena Rybarikova, who upset 2nd seed Danish Caroline Wozniacki in easy straight sets ... Sania needs to work on her 1st serve percetage, in all matches she struggled with her 1st serve in the firset but came back strongly in 2nd.

With this win Sania will re-enter into top 100.

Football News
At I-League 2008/09 - 13th February

Dempo SC bt Mumbai FC 3-0

Goal scored - Ranty Martins (DSC) 14', Clifford Miranda (DSC) 28', Clifton Gonsalves (DSC0 83'

Much required easy win for Dempo.
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14th February
Vasco SC l East Bengal 1-4

Goal Scored - Shehod Nazarov (VSC) 52' and Yusuf Yakubu (EB) 47' & 56', Sunil Chettri (EB) 29' & 90'
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Mahindra United dw JCT 0-0
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Chirag United bt Air India 1-0

Goal Scored - Bidemi Daniel (CU) 24'
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15th february

Sporting Clube de Goa bt Churchill Brothers 1-0

Goal Scored - SChinta Chandrashekhar (SCG) 7'
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Mohun Bagan bt Mohammedan Sporting 1-0

Goal Scored - James Lukram Singh (MB) 14'

Mohun Bagan scored their consecutive 10th win, but Sporting Clube de Goa also keeping pace with them scoring win over Churchill.

Golf News
At AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am - First Round (PGA Tour)

T13 Arjun Atwal (PB) 68 -4
T90 Vijay Singh (PH) 72 E
T152 Daniel Chopra (PH) 75 +3

Good start by Arjun at AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am ... Yesterday Arjun played on Pebble Beach golf course ... Arjun started from back 9 ... He scored bogey on par-5 hole 14 but then managed birdie on another par-5 18th hole to finished on even after back 9 ... Arjun started badly on front 9 scoring bogey on par-4 1st hole ... But after scoring eagle on par-5 2nd hole Arjun played more solid game ... Then he scored another 3 birdies on 4th, 6th and 7th holes to finished inside top 15

Daniel played on Poppy Hills course and had terrible outing ... Bogeys were raining in his round, he had 6 bogeys and 3 birdies ... That push him outside top-150 ... Vijay Singh also played on Poppy Hills course and managed only even round ... He had a birdie and a bogey in his round.
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Hockey News

Goalkeepers - Baljit Singh, Adrian D'Souza
Fullbacks - Dilip Tirkey, Sandeep Singh, VR Raghunath
Midfielders - Gurbaj Singh, VS Vinay, Vikram Pillay, Prabodh Tirkey, Ignace Tirkey, Sardar Singh
Forwards - Hari Prasad, Sarwanjit Singh, Shivendra Singh, Rajpal Singh, Arjun Halappa, Tushar Khandekar, SV Sunil

Our team for Australia and New Zealand tour was announced ... Wingers Sarwanjit Singh and Hari Prasad and midfielder Sardar Singh have been included in place of Prabhjot Singh, Deepak Thakur and Bharat Chhikara ... Deepak Thakur and Bharat Chhikara r injured, Prabhjot Singh is getting married.

Tennis News
At $220K PTT Pattaya Women's Open, Thailand

[R2] Sania Mirza (IND,126) bt (Q) Vitalia Diatchenko (RUS,196) 64 60

[QF] Sania Mirza (IND,126) vs (6) Tamarine Tanasugarn (THA,41)

First Set
Diatchenko started match with serve.
VD hold after saving 3 bps
0-1 VD put SM under pressure attacking SM's second serve to created 2 bps @ 15-40, SM saved both and hold
1-1 SM breaks @ 15-40 to take early lead
2-1 SM struggling with her 1st sere but still hold @ 30
3-1 VD hold @ 15
3-2 VD broke back @ 15, so score levels
3-3 Vd hold @ 30, now she won 3 games on trot ... C'mon Sania
3-4 SM hold on luv, her 1st serve percentage - 48%
4-4 SM take crucial break in the 9th game @ 15, so SM serving for the first set
5-4 SM hold to won the first set after duece, VD saved 1 set point
6-4

Won the first set in 37 mins.

SM - 1st serve percentage 42%, Aces 2, Double Faults 0, BPs won 2 from 5
VD - 1st serve percentage 48%, Aces 0, Double Faults 4, BPs won 1 from 3

Second Set
SM started strongly breaking VD's serve on luv to take early lead in the second set
1-0 SM hold after saving 1 bp
2-0 Another break for SM @ 15 ... Now she dominating VD
3-0 SM hold @ 15 to strengthen 2 breaks lead
4-0 SM converted 2nd bp after 4 dueces, VD committed 4 double faults in this single game, now SM need to hold her serve to win this second round match
5-0 SM hold on 15 to scored easy victory, in this final game SM started with 2 aces
6-0

Sania won second set in 25 mins to score dominating win ... Improved match stats in the second set.

SM - 1st serve percentage 72%, Aces 4, Double Faults 1, BPs won 3 from 4
VD - 1st serve percentage 48%, Aces 0, Double Faults 4, BPs won 0 from 1

Overall Sania won 63 points and Diatchenko only managed 40 points in this 1 hour 2 minutes match .... Next match is real test against experience local girl, #41 Tamarine Tanasugarn.
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At € 1.445M ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament, Rotterdam, Netherlands

[QF] (2) Leander Paes (IND)/ Lukas Dlouhy (CZE) bt Igor Andreev (RUS)/ Marcin Matkowski (POL) 62 61

Very dominating win by our pair in just 45 minutes ... Our pairs serve broke down 2 times but they also broke opponents serve 7 times.
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At $15K+H Ivory Coast F2, Abidjan

[R2] SHARAN Divij (IND,698) l (5) SEMJAN Marek (SVK,377) 67(4) 67(4)

Doubles
[QF] BONDARENKO Vladislav (UKR)/ SHARAN Divij (IND) l DUCLOS Pierre-Ludovic (CAN)/ HAIDER-MAURER Andreas (AUT) 36 46

Was very close match as both sets went to tie-break ... Tough luck but promising performance by Divij ... He also lost in doubles quarters against 2nd seed with Ukranian partner.

Tennis News
At $600K SAP Open, San Jose, California , USA

[R1] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) bt Rajeev Ram (USA)/ Bobby Reynolds (USA) 62 64

[QF] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) vs (1) Bob Bryan (USA)/ Mike Bryan (USA)

Wow, that was really good solid win by Rohan and Jarkko against tough team of Rajeev and Bobby ... So in the second round they r facing WR #1 pair Bryans.
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At $220K PTT Pattaya Women's Open, Thailand

[R2] Sania Mirza (IND,126) vs (Q) Vitalia Diatchenko (RUS,196)

Doubles
[QF] (3) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Mara Santangelo (ITA) bt Elena Bovina (RUS)/ Ksenis Pervak (RUS) 64 63

3rd seed Cibulkova was out due to illness and Russian qualifier Vitalia Diatchenko defeated Japanese lucky-loser Ryoko Fuda to face Sania in the second round.

Also Sania's doubles partner Mara Santangelo retired from her singles match so wasn't sure about her doubles participation ... But Mara joined Sania on the court for quarter-final match and they won easily in 1 hr and 9 mins to move into semis.
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Harsh Mankad is decided to partner Brian Battistone for next few weeks mostly on European challengers ... Brian having interesting style of serve, volleyball jump-serve ... He also play with a special racket with two handles ... :-)
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At $15K+H Ivory Coast F2, Abidjan

[R1] SHARAN Divij (IND,698) bt (WC) BINI Y (CIV,UNR) 62 60

[R2] SHARAN Divij (IND,698) vs (5) SEMJAN, Marek (SVK,377)

Doubles
[R1] BONDARENKO Vladislav (UKR)/ SHARAN Divij (IND) bt (WC) ANIBIE Sylvain (CIV)/ GOVEN Mathieu (FRA) 26 62 10(0)

[QF] BONDARENKO Vladislav (UKR)/ SHARAN Divij (IND) vs DUCLOS Pierre-Ludovic (CAN)/ HAIDER-MAURER Andreas (AUT)

Expected start with easy victory .. But need super tie-break to win their first round doubles ... Now tough next rounds in singles and doubles ... Go Divij.
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At $75K Midland Tournament, MI, USA

[R1] Sunitha Rao (IND,216) l (8) Vania King (USA,118) 16 64 64

Doubles
[R1] Sunitha Rao (IND)/ Story Tweedie-Yates (USA) l Kai-Chen Chang (TPE)/ Stephanie Foretz (FRA) 26 75 (7)10

Again Sunitha lost in the first round but this time improved perormance by her against higher ranked opponents in singles and doubles.

Tennis News
At € 1.445M ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament, Rotterdam, Netherlands

[R1] Leander Paes (IND)/ Lukas Dlouhy (CZE) bt Christopher Kas(GER)/ Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) 76(4) 57 10(3)

As expected very close match against this tricky German pair but happy to see that in end they won super tie-break easily.
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At $220K PTT Pattaya Women's Open, Thailand

[R1] Sania Mirza (IND,127) bt (WC) Nicha Lertpitaksinchai (THA,902) 76(4) 75

Surprisingly long tough match of 1 hr and 52 mins ... She saved set points at 4-5 in both the sets to win ... Sania had 18 break point chances and converted 6 but Lertpitaksinchai also had 9 break point chances and she converted 5 ... Sania struggled with her serve as 1st serve percentage was 51% ... Need to play more controlled and solid game in next rounds.

Hockey News
At the four-nation Punjab Gold Cup Hockey Tournament, India

Final
India l Holland 1-2

Goal Scored - Sandeep Singh (IND) 43' PS and Robbert Kemperman (NED) 46', Jeroen Hertzberger (NED) 62' PC

Another loss against Holland in the final, so we r still searching for win against Holland after 12 yrs ... Both team had ample opportunities in the begining but both team failed to take and first half ended on 0-0 ... In the second half India earned penalty stoke and this time Sandeep Singh scored from it ... But Holland came back strongly to make it 1-all after 4 minutes ... They scored another goal through penalty corner and that was enough to give them the title ... Indians wasted one penalty corner in the first half ... They also had 3 more in second half and last one was in 66th minute but Sandeep Singh failed to score from that also ... Other hand Holland had 3 and converted from one.

Tennis News
Davis Cup Group I, Asia/Oceania 2009,

Chinese Taipei defeated Kazakhstan 4-1, so in next month, 06 Mar - 08 Mar 2009, we r facing them in second round of Group I, Asia/Oceania ... Venue of the tie will be decide on the coin, but as per latest indication we r playing at Taiwan ... mSo mostly tie will be on the clay and if Prakash is not in the team then Rohan will be added to play singles with Somdev.
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As expected Prakash Amritraj first-time manage to break top-200 barrier in singles after reaching singles semi-final at Dallas Challenger ... He is also reached personal best doubles ranking with title win at same challenger.

On 9th February 2009 ATP ranking list,

Prakash Amritraj is on 199th position in ATP singles ranking with 407 ranking points and
he is on 167th position in ATP doubles ranking with 649 ranking points.

Ashutosh Singh also reached his personal best doubles ranking, i.e. 153rd with 699 points.
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At $600K SAP Open, San Jose, California , USA

[R1] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) vs Rajeev Ram (USA)/ Bobby Reynolds (USA)

Rohand with Jarkko having very tricky but interesting first round match-up ... They r in same draw of Bryans.
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At $220K PTT Pattaya Women's Open, Thailand

Doubles
[R1] (3) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Mara Santangelo (ITA) bye

Sania is 3rd seed with Santangelo in doubles and they r having first round bye.
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At $15K+H Ivory Coast F2, Abidjan

[R1] SHARAN Divij (IND,698) vs (WC) BINI Y (CIV,UNR)

Doubles
[R1] BONDARENKO Vladislav (UKR)/ SHARAN Divij (IND) vs (WC) ANIBIE Sylvain (CIV)/ GOVEN Mathieu (FRA)

Another good draw for Divij, who r facing wild-crad local opponents in singles and doubles.
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At $10K Egypt F3, Cairo

[Q1] WAGH Akash (IND,UNR) l PERSHIN Sergei (RUS,1743) 46 26
[Q1] (12) REDDY B Vikram (IND,1385) bt CIMMINO Edoardo (ITA,UNR) 46 62 61

[Q2] (12) REDDY B Vikram (IND,1385) bt ABU-ZIED Zyad (EGY,UNR) 62 63

[Q3] (12) REDDY B Vikram (IND,1385) l (8) FIORAVANTE Enrico (ITA,1203) 46 16

This week also Akash and Vikram r playing on clay in Egypt ... Akash again lost but Vikram reached in the final qualifying round before losing to higer ranked Italian.
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Golf News
At $5.3M Buick Invitational - Final Standing

T53 Arjun Atwal 72 74 74 72 +4 $ 12,269.50

Arjun played PAR last round to finish T53 ... Arjun had bad start scoring bogeys on 1st and 3rd round, but he came back strongly scoring birdies on 5th, 6th and 9th holes ... Then another back to back bogeys on 14th and 15th take his score to +1 for the day ... In end he managed birdie on Par-5 18th hole to end day on even ... This was his best course on the south course as in last 2 rounds he had identical +2 rounds.

Arjun is making birdies, now he need to bring control on numerous bogeys ... But Arjun is showing improvement after every tournament ... Next week Arjun is playing with Daniel Chopra and Vijay Singh at AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am tournament.

Tennis News
At $600K SAP Open, San Jose, USA

[Q1] (4) Somdev Devvarman (IND,153) bt (WC) Filip Krajinovic (SRB,528) 46 63 61

[Q2] (4) Somdev Devvarman (IND,153) l Todd Widom (USA,278) 36 67(4)

Som had tough win in the first round against 16 yrs old Serbian player ... But he again lost against lower ranked American player in second qualifying ... With this his poor run continue.
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At € 1.445M ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament, Rotterdam, Netherlands

[R1] Leander Paes (IND)/ Lukas Dlouhy (CZE) vs Christopher Kas(GER)/ Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER)
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At $50K Dallas Challenger, Texas, USA

[F] (1) Prakash Amritraj (IND)/ Rajeev Ram (USA) bt (WC) Patrick Briaud (USA)/ Jason Marshall (USA) 63 46 10(8)

In second set Prakash lost his serve at 4-5 to lose this set ... Had fantastic quality supertiebreak, with both Rajeev and Prakash played some incredible shots ... Well done, congrats to Kash and Rajeev for their first title together.
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At $220K PTT Pattaya Women's Open, Thailand

[R1] Sania Mirza (IND,127) vs (WC) Nicha Lertpitaksinchai (THA,902)

Sania need good performance to bring back her ranking inside top-50 ASAP ... This week she is having good draw to go deep in this tournament.

Tennis News
At $600K SAP Open, San Jose, USA

[Q1] Somdev Devvarman (IND,153) vs (WC) Filip Krajinovic (SRB,528)
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Hockey News
At the four-nation Punjab Gold Cup Hockey Tournament, India 

India bt New Zealand 3-2

Goal Scored - Rajpal Singh (IND) 6' & 55', Ignace Tirkey (IND) 68' and Nicholas Wilson (NZL) 40', Richard Petherick (NZL) 62' PC

Again poor defending by us as we conceded 8 penalty corners and earned zero, still lucky to win  ... Yesterday Adrian D' Souza got game as Baljit Singh was rested ... But with this win India is in the final against Holland, who thrashed German team 7-1.

Football News
At I-League 2008/09 - 6th February

Mumbai FC dw Mahindra United 0-0
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Mohun Bagan bt Sporting Clube De Goa 1-0

Goal Scored - Baichung Bhutia (MB) 76'

Baichung scored crucial goal to gave first-time lead to Mohun Bagan in this edition I-League standing.
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7th February
East Bengal bt Air India 3-1

Goal Scored - Yusuf Yakubu (EB) 49', Sunil Chhetri (EB) 56', Sanju Pradhan (EB) 81' and Subhash Singh (AI) 89'
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Churchill Brothers bt Chirag United 3-0

Goal Scored - Ogba Kalu Nnanna (CB) 17', Felix Chimankwu (CB) 44' & 69'
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Mohammedan Sporting bt JCT 2-0

Goal Scored - Jothi Kumar (MS) 73', Mike Okoro (MS) 79' P
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8th february
Vasco SC dw Dempo SC 2-2

Goal Scored - Sherzod Nazarov (VSC) 3', Yorkin Nazarov (VSC) 78' and Clifford Miranda (DSC) 27', Climax Lawrence (DSC) 87'

Dempo missed numerous scoring chances and penalty in this match.

Tennis News
At $50K Dallas Challenger, Texas, USA

[SF] (7) Rajeev Ram (USA,220) l (8) Ryan Sweeting (USA,202) 46 46
[SF] Prakah Amritraj (IND,204) vs (5) Brendan Evans (USA,160) 06 57

Doubles
[SF] (1) Prakash Amritraj (IND)/ Rajeev Ram (USA) bt (4) Hiroki Kondo (JPN)/ Ashutosh Singh (IND) 75 46 10(7)

[F] (1) Prakash Amritraj (IND)/ Rajeev Ram (USA) vs (WC) Patrick Briaud (USA)/ Jason Marshall (USA)

Tough singles loss after good run until singles semis ... But let's hope Kash build momentum in next tournaments with this performance ... They r facing wild-card pair in doubles final.
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At Group I Asia/Oceania Zone, Perth, Australia

India l Chinese Taipei 0-3

Rushmi Chakravarthi (IND) l I-Husan Hwang (TPE) 26 57
Ankita Bhambri (IND) l Chin-Wei Chan (TPE) 57 16
Ankita Bhambri (IND) /Sanaa Bhambri (IND) l Chin-Wei Chan (TPE)/ Chia-Jung Chuang (TPE) 46 26

Frankly expected 0-3 loss ... In this complete tournament we only managed to win single set ... So for next year we r officially relegated to the Asia-Oceania Group-II.
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At $10K Ivory Coast F1 futures, Abidjan, Cote D'Ivoire

[SF] BONDARENKO Vladislav (UKR)/ SHARAN Divij (IND) l BEGEMANN Andre (GER)/ TAVARES Leonardo (POR) 67(2) 36
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Hockey News
At the four-nation Punjab Gold Cup Hockey Tournament, India 

India l Germany 2-4

Goal Scored - Tushar Khandekar (IND) 12', Sandeep Singh (IND) 64' PC and Jan Philipp Rabente (GER) 14', Lim Kevin (GER) 21', Mortiz Furste (GER) 34' PC, Tobias (GER) 38'

Result against Germany was real one considering their game ... In previous match they were unlucky after controlling the match but yesterday was different story.

Now India need atleast draw against New Zealand.

Tennis News
At $50K Dallas Challenger, Texas, USA

[QF] (7) Rajeev Ram (USA,220) bt Michael Russell (USA,277) 57 64 75
[QF] Prakah Amritraj (IND,204) bt Scoville Jenkins (USA,207) 76(3) 46 64

[SF] (7) Rajeev Ram (USA,220) vs (8) Ryan Sweeting (USA,202)
[SF] Prakah Amritraj (IND,204) vs (5) Brendan Evans (USA,160)

Doubles
[QF] (1) Prakash Amritraj (IND)/ Rajeev Ram (USA) bt Jesse Levine (USA)/ Peter Polansky (CAN) W/O (lower back strain to Jesse Levine)
[QF] (4) Hiroki Kondo (JPN)/ Ashutosh Singh (IND) bt Brendan Evans (USA)/ Ryan Sweeting (USA) 76(5) 62

[SF] (1) Prakash Amritraj (IND)/ Rajeev Ram (USA) vs (4) Hiroki Kondo (JPN)/ Ashutosh Singh (IND)

Prakash scored very exciting and fighting win over these days hot player on challengers level, Scoville Jenkins ... This win will help Kash to first time enter into top-200 in his small career .. Rajeev also joined him in semis.

Ashutosh also entered into doubles semis with his Japanese partner scoring good win against Americans ... They faced top-seeds Kash and Ram, whio recieved walkover in their match due to Jesse Levine injury.
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At Group I Asia/Oceania Zone, Perth, Australia

Pool A
India l Uzbekistan 0-3

Sanaa Bhambri (IND) l Albina Khabibulina (UZB) 16 57
Ankita Bhambri (IND) l Akgul Amanmuradova (UZB) 46 46
Ankita Bhambri (IND)/ Rushmi Chakravarthi (IND) l Akgul Amanmuradova (UZB)/ Albina Khabibulina (UZB) 26 57

After finishing bottom of their respective groups, tomorrow WE play against Taiwan with the winner to stay in Group I of Asia/Oceania and the loser to be relegated to Group II.

With another 0-3 loss we need miracle to overcome Taiwani to stay in Group I considering our this tournament's performance.
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At $10K Ivory Coast F1 futures, Abidjan, Cote D'Ivoire

[R2] SHARAN Divij (IND,702) l DE BONNEVIE Philippe (FRA,461) 46 36
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IPL 2009 Bidding

Max 10 foreign players r allowed for every team in their lineup and allowed to use max $2 millions for bidding.

IPL auction started and as expected Kevin Pietersen became IPL's most expensive player with Andrew Flintoff.

No buyers found for Brad Haddin, Stuart Clark, Phil Jaques, Ashwell Prince, Andre Nel, Luke Wright, Nuwan Kulasekara, Chamara Kapugedera, Morne van Wyk, Daren Powell, Jerome Taylor, Steven Smith, Ashley Noffke, Gulam Bodi, Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan, Jon Moss, Bryce McGain, Aiden Blizzard, James Franklin, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Michael Klinger, Kaushalya Weeraratne, Prasanna Jayawardene, Dominic Thornely, Samit Patel, Yusuf Abdullah, Daniel Harris, Kemar Roach, Aaron Bird, Michael Dighton, Michael Hill and Brett Geeves.

Andrew Flintoff (base price $950,000) - for $ 1.55 million to Chennai Super Kings
Kevin Pietersen (base price $1.35 million) - for $ 1.55 million to Banglore Royal challenger
JP Duminy (base price $300,000) - for $950,00 to Mumbai Indians
Shaun Tait (base rice $250,000) - for $US375,000 to Rajasthan Royals
Owais Shah (base price $150,000 ) for $275,000 to Delhi Daredevils
Fidel Edwards (base price $150,000) - for $150,000 to Deccan Chargers
Paul Collingwood (base price $250,000) - for $275,000 to Delhi Daredevils (with this Delhi's 10 players quota finished.)

Tyron Henderson (base price $100,000) - for $650,000 to Rajasthan Royals (finished 10 players quota)
Ravi Bopara (base price $150,000) - for $450,000 to Kings XI Punjab
Thilan Thushara (base price $100,000) - for $140,000 to Chennai Super Kings
Jesse Ryder (base price $100,000) - for $160,000 to Banglore Royal challenger (finished 10 players quota)
Kyle Mills (base price $150,000) - for $150,000 to Mumbai Indians
Dwayne Smith (base price $100,000) - for $100,000 to Deccan Chargers (finished 10 players quota)
Mashrafe Mortaza (base price $50,000) - for $600,000 to Kolkata Knight Rider ( amazing bidding price considering his low base price) (finished 10 players quota)
George Bailey (base price $50,000) - for $50,000 to Chennai Super Kings (finished 10 players quota)

Jerome Taylor (base price $150,000) - for $150,000 to Kings XI Punjab (finished 10 players quota)

Oh, Mumbai decided to buy Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful.

Mohammad Ashraful (base price $75,000) - for $75,000 to Mumbai Indians

Tennis News
At $50K Dallas Challenger, Texas, USA

[R2] Prakah Amritraj (IND,204) bt (6) Ricardo Mello (BRA,176) 75 63
[R2] (7) Rajeev Ram (USA,220) bt (Q) Luis Manuel Flores (MEX,598) 75 64

[QF] (7) Rajeev Ram (USA,220) vs Michael Russell (USA,277)
[QF] Prakah Amritraj (IND,204) vs Scoville Jenkins (USA,207)

Doubles
[R1] (1) Prakash Amritraj (IND)/ Rajeev Ram (USA) bt (Q) Raian Luchici (ROU)/ Justin O'Neal (USA) 62 63
[R1] Harsh Mankad (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) l Brendan Evans (USA)/ Ryan Sweeting (USA) 67(4) 36

[QF] (1) Prakash Amritraj (IND)/ Rajeev Ram (USA) vs Jesse Levine (USA)/ Peter Polansky (CAN)
[QF] (4) Hiroki Kondo (JPN)/ Ashutosh Singh (IND) vs Brendan Evans (USA)/ Ryan Sweeting (USA)

Prakash produced excellent comeback after down 0-3 in the first set, then he dominated Mello to moved into quarter-finals.

After this terrific win Kash is facing last week's finalist Scoville Jenkins in the quarters ... In doubles also top-seed pair having good start ... But pair of Harsh and Purav lost in straight sets.
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At Group I Asia/Oceania Zone, Perth, Australia

Pool A
India l Indonesia 0-3

[M1] Sanaa Bhambri (IND) l Lavinia Tatanta (INA) 62 36 16
[M2] Ankita Bhambri (IND) l Sandy Gumulya (INA) 06 46
[M3] Ankita Bhambri (IND)/ Rushmi Chakravarthi (IND) l Ayu Fani Damayanti (INA)/ Sandy Gumulya (INA) 67(6) 36

Another expected result ... But Sanaa played good match against Lavinia Tatanta to take first set but couldn't finish the match after this good start ... This time we tried different doubles combination of Rushmi and Ankita.

So with this win Indonesia and New Zealand, who upset top seed Uzbekistan, r in semis from Pool A ... Australia guranteed their place in semis from Pool B ... Mostly winer between Thailand and Korea will join them in the semis ... So we r having tough task to avoid relegation.
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At $15K+H Ivory Coast F1 futures, Abidjan, Cote D'Ivoire

[QF] BONDARENKO Vladislav (UKR)/ SHARAN Divij (IND) bt FRANSEN Stephan (NED)/ GOVAERTS Bart (BEL) 16 64 10(8)

[SF] BONDARENKO Vladislav (UKR)/ SHARAN Divij (IND) vs BEGEMANN Andre (GER)/ TAVARES Leonardo (POR)

Divij is in doubles semis with his Ukranian partner.
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At $10K Egypt F2 Futures, Cairo (Clay)

[R1] (Q) REDDY B. Vikram (IND,1389) l RUSEVSKI Predrag (MKD,850) 46 26
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At $25K Rancho Mirage Tournament, CA, USA

[R1] (5) RAO Sunitha (IND,196) l (Q) PIOPPO Elena (ITA,379) 06 46

Sunitha's woeful result continue ... This time she lost against below 350 ranked Italian qualifier.
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Hockey News
At the four-nation Punjab Gold Cup Hockey Tournament, India

India dw Holland 2-2

Goal Scored - Shivender Singh (IND) 38', Prabhjot Singh (IND) 55' and Jeroen Hertzberger (NED) 32', Geert-van Derikx (NED) 52' PC

Another goalkeeper Baljit Singh's show ... How many more times he need to do rescue act only god knows ... Yesterday, Vikram Pillay played exceptional match .. He was busy providing passes to our forwardline and did some superb saves at goal-line.

Tennis News

After 18 years we r having World Junior #1 again ... As expected Yuki climbed to #1 position after AO Junior title win ... #2 and #3 r concentrating more on seniors, so he is having 800 points lead over his nearest rival ... Last year Yuki accumulated maximum points after Junior US Open, so we can safely say that Yuki will remain No. 1 until end of all junior grandslams ... Hopefully this year he also achieve #1 year-end ranking.

Yuki defeated the current #100, #30, #41, #11, #25 on the way to the AO junior title.

Ronak Manuja is #68 and Kaza Vinayak Sharma is #77 in newly published ranking.

ITF Junior Boys' Ranking (02 Feb 2009)
1 Yuki BHAMBRI IND 1508.75
2 Grigor DIMITROV BUL 1087.5
3 Tsung-Hua YANG TPE 911.25
4 Jose PEREIRA BRA 705
5 Julen URIGUEN GUA 690
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At Group I Asia/Oceania Zone, Perth, Australia

Pool A
India l New Zealand 0-3

[M1] Rushmi Chakravarthi (IND) l Dianee Hollands (NZL) 36 06
[M2] Ankita Bhambri (IND) l Marina Eracovic (NZL) 26 36
[M3] Ankita Bhambri (IND)/ Sanaa Bhambri (IND) l Marina Eracovic (NZL)/ Kairangi Vano (NZL) 26 36

Anyway expected start for our women team ... New Zealand girls thrashed us 0-3 ... Rushmi lost against unranked player, who had her best ranking #699, without giving any fight ... In other match from our group, Indonesian girls upset Uzbekistan girls.

Team Captain Enrico Piperno - "The girls did not play to their potential. The opposition was tough but our girls played bad. It makes the job tougher for India now. Indonesia surprised everyone today. Now we have another tough tie."
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At $50K Dallas Challenger, Texas, USA

[R2] Prakah Amritraj (IND,204) vs (6) Ricardo Mello (BRA,176)
[R2] (7) Rajeev Ram (USA,220) vs (Q) Luis Manuel Flores (MEX,598)

Doubles
[R1] (4) Hiroki Kondo (JPN)/ Ashutosh Singh (IND) bt Ramon Delgado (PAR)/ Ricardo Mello (BRA) 62 63

Easy winning start for Ashutosh and Kondo.
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At $10K Ivory Coast F1 futures, Abidjan, Cote D'Ivoire

[R2] SHARAN Divij (IND,702) vs DE BONNEVIE Philippe (FRA,461)

Doubles
[R1] BONDARENKO Vladislav (UKR)/ SHARAN Divij (IND) bt VANDENBULCKE Yannick (BEL)/ WITMEUR Alec (BEL) 63 64

[QF] BONDARENKO Vladislav (UKR)/ SHARAN Divij (IND) vs FRANSEN Stephan (NED)/ GOVAERTS Bart (BEL)

Divij and his Ukranian partner started well with straight sets victory ... In the singles second round Divij facing top-500 Frenchman he upset 6th seed Russian.
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At $25K Rancho Mirage Tournament, CA, USA

[R1] (5) RAO Sunitha (IND,196) vs (Q) PIOPPO Elena (ITA,379)

Doubles
[R1] (2) PELLETIER Marie-Eve (CAN)/ RAO Sunitha (IND) l (WC) GIBBS Nicole (USA)/ TAN Stacey (USA) 16 63 (8)10

Sunitha is facing veteran Italian qualifier in the singles first round ... But she and her Canadian doubles top-100 partner lost in the first round against wild-card pair.
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Hockey News
At the four-nation Punjab Gold Cup Hockey Tournament, India

India bt Germany 2-0

Goal Scored - Dilip Tirkey (IND) 2' PC, Prabhjot Singh (IND) 53' PC

India were damn lucky to defeat this young German side ... Our win was due to goalkeeper Baljit Singh' stupendous show, who had amazing day under the bar ... He saved 8 penalty corners from German side, other hand we converted both penalty corners ... Its worrying sign that we r conceding 8 penalty corners in the match and superior side will take full advantage of it ... Now we need another win from remaining 3 matches to move into the final.

Tennis News
At $50K Dallas Challenger, Texas, USA

[R1] Prakah Amritraj (IND,204) bt Michael Yani (USA,227) 63 62
[R1] (7) Rajeev Ram (USA,220) bt Michael Ryderstedt (SWE,365) 63 62

Good easy wins for Kash and Rajeev to move into second round.
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At $10K Ivory Coast F1 futures, Abidjan, Cote D'Ivoire

[R1] SHARAN Divij (IND,702) bt (WC) ANIBIE Sylvain (CIV,1359) 76(4) 62

Doubles
[R1] BONDARENKO Vladislav (UKR)/ SHARAN Divij (IND) vs VANDENBULCKE Yannick (BEL)/ WITMEUR Alec (BEL)

Good start of new year for Divij ... Interesting to see how he fares here.
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At $10K Egypt F2 Futures, Cairo (Clay)

[Q1] WAGH Akash (IND,UNR) bt CHOMAEV Ruslan (RUS,UNR) 61 64
[Q1] (15) REDDY B. Vikram (IND,1389) bt DI GIOVANNI Lorenzo (ITA,UNR) 63 64

[Q2] WAGH Akash (IND,UNR) l HEDAYET Omar (EGY,1909) 46 36
[Q2] (15) REDDY B. Vikram (IND,1389) bt ULRIK Anders (DEN,UNR) 63 62

[Q3] (15) REDDY B. Vikram (IND,1389) bt HEDAYET Omar (EGY,1909) 76(7) 62

[R1] (Q) REDDY B. Vikram (IND,1389) vs RUSEVSKI Predrag (MKD,850)

Good to see Vikram Reddy qualifying to maindraw on clay court ... But he is having tough challenge against former top-250 (in last February) player.
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At $25K Rancho Mirage Tournament, CA, USA

[R1] (5) RAO Sunitha (IND,196) vs Qualifier

Doubles
[R1] (2) PELLETIER Marie-Eve (CAN)/ RAO Sunitha (IND) vs (WC) GIBBS Nicole (USA)/ TAN Stacey (USA)

Tennis News

We r in trouble before participating in the upcoming Group I Asia/Oceania zone tie at Perth, Australia which starting from Wednesday ... Sania Mirza decided to opt out of the upcoming Group I Asia/Oceania zone tie due to an abdominal injury.

Moreover no replacement can be sent to the event as the last date for sending the substitute has lapsed ... So we r playing with only 3 players - Ankita Bhambri, Sanaa Bhambri and Rushmi Chakravarthi ... It will be big surprise if they avoid relegation to the Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group II.

Golf News
At Dubai Desert Classic, Dubai, UAE - Final Standing

T16 Jeev Milkha Singh 69 68 72 69 -10 € 25671.32
T44 Jyoti Randhawa 73 68 73 72 - 2 € 10676.17
T41 S S P Chowrasia 74 69 73 74 + 2 € 6211.59

Jeev missed chance of finishing inside top-10 due to par round on round 3 ... But still this T16 is the best performance by Indian at Dubai Dessert Classic.
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Hockey News
At the four-nation Punjab Gold Cup Hockey Tournament, India

India dw Holland 4-4

Goal Scored - Shivender Singh (IND) 29' & 32', Prabhjot Singh (IND) 31', V Sunil (IND) 61' and Rob Reckers (NED) 16', Laurence Docherty (NED) 26' PS, Timme Hoyng (NED) 48', Geert Jan Derikx (NED) 67' PC

India lost bigopportunity of scoring their first victory against Netherlands in the last 10 years ... Again India gave opponent's chance of equalising in dying minutes ... Moreover skipper Sandeep Singh failed to convert penalty stroke when he hitted that wide ... In complete match we failed to get single penalty corner ... Overall we r still repeating mistakes which we r doing last 20 years.

Tennis News
At Australian Open 2009, Melbourne
SANIA AND MAHESH BECOME 2009 AUSTRALIAN OPEN MIXED DOUBLES CHAMPION !!!

Thanks to Getty Images for these photos.
Mixed Doubles Final
[F] Sania Mirza (IND)/ Mahesh Bhupathi (IND) bt Nathalie Dechy (FRA)/ Andy Ram (ISR) 63 61

Sania captured her first grandslam in company of Mahesh in 2009 Australian Open ... This victory gives Bhupathi a seventh mixed doubles Grand Slam title, and is the first for the Mirza/Bhupathi pairing ... So with that Indians won 2 titles and came runnerup in Mens doubles.
Sania and Mahesh started well breaking Andy Ram's serve in the first game of the match ... But in fourth game Ram and Dechy tried comeback breaking Sania's serve to make it 2-all ... At that time Mahesh was struggling with volleys, but after that Mahesh lifted his game to match Sania's game ... In seventh game Sania and Mahesh broke Nathalie Dechy's serve on luv with excellent game near net ... They again broke Andy Ram's serve in 9th game with superb back court game to won first set in 29 minutes.

In the second set first 3 games went on serve but Sania and Mahesh take initiative in the fourth game to broke Nathalie Dechy's serve ... With another service break on Andy Ram's serve in the sixth game after duece they take 5-1 lead ... Then Sania hold on 30 to make memorable day for her with first grandslam title ... Sania played exceptionally well with her trademark forehands, crosscourt backhands and improved net game ... Our pair won in just 55 minutes to gave very dominating performance.

Match Stats
Mirza and Bhupathi won a total of 53 points to their opponents’ 33
Both pairs committed just 10 errors for the match
Mirza and Bhupathi led the winner count with 28 to Dechy and Ram’s 14
Dechy and Ram won only 12 of 42 points when receiving

Interview after Australian Open Mixed Doubles title
Q. Your first Grand Slam title, Sania. How are you feeling?
SANIA MIRZA: Great. I mean, you know, it's always a dream to win a Grand Slam. That's what we all play for I think when we're younger. It's just great. It makes it more special because it's with someone that I know for so long and so well. Yeah, it's great. It's great to win it.

Q. What was it like serving for the championship? What was going through your mind?
SANIA MIRZA: Nothing, actually. I was trying to block that score out. I wasn't really looking at the scoreboard and thinking, Oh, it's 5‑1, I'm serving for the championship. I was just trying to serve it out like it was any other game.

Q. What was your feeling when you were holding the cup out on center court?
SANIA MIRZA: I think it's a feeling that you can't really describe. You're obviously very happy. It's a dream come true.

Q. Mahesh, have you personally played a better game of doubles than you did today?
MAHESH BHUPATHI: Yeah, I felt I've been playing pretty well the last couple of days. Had a good hit this morning. So obviously it's a huge bonus if you can play high quality in a Grand Slam final because that takes a lot of pressure off. I think both of us played a very high‑quality match today.

Q. A very good tournament for Indian tennis.
SANIA MIRZA: Yeah, it is. I mean, even in the juniors, we had a Grand Slam champion as well. So, yeah, it's been a great two weeks.

Q. How much impact might this have back in India?
SANIA MIRZA: Let's hope a lot. You know, it's great. I don't remember the last time when we had so many ‑‑ I mean, he played the finals, we won today, Yuki won. It's been a great two weeks. Let's hope a lot more people play, and tennis grows. It's been growing. It might take it to another level.

Q. The first all‑Indian pair to win a mixed doubles at a Grand Slam.
SANIA MIRZA: It's great. What can you say? We've been playing for I think four or five slams now. We came very close last year, as well. Yeah, we did one better this time. We hope to continue.

Q. Mahesh, what are your goals for this year? Are you going to continue playing together? Any particular tournaments in mind?
MAHESH BHUPATHI: Well, you know, for us, it's always four slams where we have the opportunity to play mixed. Ideally I'd like to continue playing with her, now that we're doing so well (laughter).

Q. In your businessman's hat would you consider a mixed doubles tournament in India?
MAHESH BHUPATHI: Yeah, we might consider an exhibition. I don't know, you know, maybe once the economy turns around across the world, we'll look at it. Obviously I think millions and millions of people watched this match today. Any time Sania plays at home, there's a lot of people watching, so...

Q. You mentioned in your presentation speech, you thanked your box about an emotional rollercoaster this week.
MAHESH BHUPATHI: The weekend. I mentioned it because we lost a tough one last night. Obviously we were a bit down. But tried to stay as positive as possible in the final today. Getting through was big.

Q. How do you bounce back from that and play the tennis you played today?
MAHESH BHUPATHI: I don't know. I mean, like I said, you know, both my coach, trainer and obviously Sania, they were trying to keep me as positive as possible. But going home without a title after making two finals just crossed my mind a few too many times today in the match (laughter). But it didn't happen. Happy about that.

Q. Was it a different final than the last one when you played against Bjorkman and Rafter?
MAHESH BHUPATHI: Well, the atmosphere in '99 was sensational, playing Pat here in the final with the full house. It was amazing. It was a five‑set match. Yesterday, again, we dominated the first two sets. We had our chances. We didn't take them. When you don't against the Bryans, that's tough.

Q. What will the reception be like when you get home?
MAHESH BHUPATHI: Well, hopefully not too big. I'm not a big fan of receptions. I'd like to sneak out the back door at the airport tomorrow. I know for a fact the whole country's excited now. It's her first slam. She's been in the news for the last four years. I think a lot of good players in the past have won a slam in either doubles or mixed and then gone on to do better things, like Lleyton Hewitt. Even Venus and Serena, they won their first slams in mixed. They were confident to move up in singles.

Q. Will you go home before your next tournament?
MAHESH BHUPATHI: Yeah, we're heading home.
SANIA MIRZA: Heading home.

Q. How would you compare your form when you first got here to today?
SANIA MIRZA: I think today, especially today, I think we both played really well. Honestly, I was a little surprised because it was my first final of a Grand Slam, nerves and everything. But I think we stepped it up after the first few games, and then suddenly we were on a roll. The last few days I've been feeling like I've been hitting the ball really well. Yeah, it helps when your partner helps you out so much, when you make a couple of returns and he's flying on the net.

Q. Physically, things are still going really well? The wrist is good?
SANIA MIRZA: The wrist has held up. That's the biggest positive, is that I played men's players for the last two weeks, and it's held up.
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At $50K Dallas Challenger, Texas, USA

[Q1] Ashutosh Singh (IND,875) l (6) Hiroki Kondo (JPN,486) 26 67(4)
[Q1] Kamala Kannan (IND,1895) bt Bryan Wooten (USA,1215) 63 63

[Q2] Kamala Kannan (IND,1895) l (3) Vladimir Ignatik (BLR,432) 36 36

Maindraw
[R1] Prakah Amritraj (IND,204) vs Michael Yani (USA,227)

Doubles
[R1] (1) Prakash Amritraj (IND)/ Rajeev Ram (USA) vs Qualifier
[R1] (4) Hiroki Kondo (JPN)/ Ashutosh Singh (IND) vs Ramon Delgado (PAR)/ Ricardo Mello (BRA)
[R1] Harsh Mankad (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) vs Brendan Evans (USA)/ Ryan Sweeting (USA)

In doubles our all players r in same top draw.

Football News
At I-League 2008/09 - 31st January

Mohammedan Sporting l Sporting Clube de Goa 0-1

Goal Scored - Joseph Pereira (SCG) 16'
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JCT dw Vasco SC

Goal Scored - Baljit Sahni (JCT) 60' and Agnelo Colaco (VSC) 25'
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Mumbai FC bt East Bengal 2-1

Goal Scored - Abhishek Yadav (MFC) 47', Abel Hammond (MFC) 89' and Yakubu (EB) 13' P
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1st February

Dempo SC dw Churchill Brothers 1-1

Goal Scored - Anthony Pereira (DSC) 20' and Felix Chimaokwu Felix (CB) 68'
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Chirag United l Mahindra United 0-2

Goal Scored - Steven Dias (MU) 51', Chidi Edeh (MU) 72'
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Air India l Mohun Bagan 1-2

Goal Scored - Subhash Singh (AI) 20' and Jose Ramirez Barreto 45' & 69'

Air men and Mohun Bagan had excellent match.
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Hockey News
At the four-nation Punjab Gold Cup Hockey Tournament

India bt New Zealand 2-0

Goal Scored - Sandeep Singh (IND) 18' PC, Shivendra Singh (IND) 64'
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Holland bt Germany 2-0

Goal Scored - Lucas Judge (NED), Jeroen Hertzberger (NED) PC

Good winning start for India and Holland in this 4 nations tournament.

Tennis News
At Australian Open 2009, Melbourne

Doubles Final
(3) Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Mark Knowles (BAH) l (2) Bob Bryan (USA)/ Mike Bryan (USA) 26 75 60

Today Mahesh failed to add second 2009 Australian Open title for Indians in Mens doubles but tomorrow he and Sania having opportunity to doing that in Mixed doubles title.

Mahesh and Mark started well breaking Bob Bryan's serve in the first game of the final ... They again broke Bob's serve in the fifth game to grabbed first set 6-2 in 27 mins ... Until first set and half Bob Bryan was struggling with his serve and game ... Other hand Mark Knowles was also struggle with his serve from second set ... Bob and Mark saved couple of break-point chances on their respective serves in second set but most crucial and only break came in 12th game when Bryans broke Mark's serve to captured second set ... After that Bryans didn't give any chance to Mark and Mahesh in this final ... They won 8 games on trot to won Australian Open title in the style from 5-all in the second set ... This was Bryans 7th grandslam title.

Mahesh by far was best player on the court in the first 2 sets but Mike Bryan played amazing match from seond set.

Tennis News
At Australian Open 2009, Melbourne
YUKI IS 2009 AUSTRALIAN OPEN JUNIOR BOYS' CHAMPION


Junior Boys' Singles Final
(1) Yuki Bhambri (IND,2) bt Alexandros-Ferdinandos Georgoudas (GER,56) 63 61

Special thanks to Getty Images for these photos.
16 years, 6 months and 27 days old Yuki Bhambri become the first Indian to be Junior Australian Open Champion ... After this win Yuki will become Junior WR No. 1 ... But importantly this title win also gives big perk as he also guarantee the wild-card to the 2010 Australian Open maindraw.

Yuki started well breaking Georgoudas serve in the begining, in 9th game he had 2 break-points and set points on 15-40 but Georgoudas fought back saving them but Yuki won next 2 points to won the first set breaking Georgoudas serve.

Second set also started same way like first, Yuki again broke Georgoudas serve in the begining ... In this set Georgoudas only managed to hold his serve in 4th game and got broken in 2nd and 6th games ... While serving for the match he had 2 match-points at 40-15 ... He double faulted on the first point but converted 2nd point to win Championship in only 57 minutes.

Commentrators were ga-ga over Yuki's game ... His serving, baseline game, net game & volleying skill. Commentrators were special comments on Yuki's ability of hitting delicate drop shot from the baseline.

Complete Match Stats
Yuki Bhambri(IND) Georgoudas(GER)

1st Serve % 23 of 42 = 55 % 26 of 49 = 53 %
Aces 4 1
Double Faults 1 0
Winning % on 1st Serve 19 of 23 = 83 % 15 of 26 = 58 %
Winning % on 2nd Serve 13 of 19 = 68 % 10 of 23 = 43 %
Receiving Points Won 24 of 49 = 49 % 10 of 43 = 23 %
Break Point Conversions 4 of 7 = 57 % 0 of 0 = 0 %
Total Points Won 56 35

Interview from Australian Open
Q. You're the first Indian to win the Australian Open juniors. How does that make you feel?

YUKI BHAMBRI: Winning the Australian Open is obviously a very gig achievement, regardless of being the first Indian. I mean, that's actually news to me. But I dreamed of winning it, and it's come true.


Q. How was it to play on the big court today?

YUKI BHAMBRI: Well, I was actually quite nervous in the beginning. That was the first time actually playing on such a huge stadium. I actually got to thank Craig for it. I mean, you don't get opportunities like this to play.

As the game and match progressed I felt much comfortable over there.


Q. What's the difference playing such a big court as opposed to some other courts?

YUKI BHAMBRI: I think the crowd's always backing you up. You're quite motivated to do well on these courts. You obviously enjoy playing in front of a lot of people.


Q. Sometimes are the dimensions a problem?

YUKI BHAMBRI: Not really, no. Because, I mean, you're kind of used to playing ‑‑ you've played so much tennis. But these small adjustments don't make much of a difference.


Q. What was your plan before you went into the match?

YUKI BHAMBRI: Well, actually I hadn't seen or heard of him before. But, I mean, I knew a little bit about him. I had seen him play yesterday in the semis, so I knew a bit about him.

I just wanted to focus on my game. I knew it was a big match, so whoever probably put more balls in the court would probably win the match. That was my aim, and to try and cut down unforced errors.


Q. You played through some pretty hot conditions here this week. Did that affect you at all in the final?

YUKI BHAMBRI: Actually, no. It affected me more in the semis. I was kind of drained out in the semis match and I had to go and play doubles. Being an Indian, in this way it's kind of helpful. You can't really get used to the heat, but you're playing in similar conditions.


Q. Because you won this now, are you going to switch out of junior tennis? What impact is this going to have on your career?

YUKI BHAMBRI: Even if I wouldn't have won it, I had already planned to focus more on men's tournaments, playing more in the men's circuit. I might still just play the Grand Slams.


Q. You had a tough match in the first round. Can you talk a little bit about this match? Did you serve match point, or do you remember?

YUKI BHAMBRI: The first match?


Q. Yes, the first one against the Mexican player.

YUKI BHAMBRI: No, it was ‑‑ I think I was up a break in the third set. Yeah, I broke him at, I think, 6‑All. It was a tough one. I was very nervous in that match because of all the expectations being the top seed.

I lost the first set, so, I mean, it was getting a bit tough. I'm glad I could pull it off.


Q. Did that result give you confidence going through the tournament that you were able to pull that out?

YUKI BHAMBRI: Oh, definitely. I mean, coming back from a set down, especially in the first and playing 8‑6 in the third. I mean, even if I probably lose in the second it couldn't get worse than that.

I actually felt much more comfortable playing all my other matches. I just went for my shots.


Q. Tell us a bit about how you picked up tennis and what was your motivation.

YUKI BHAMBRI: I have two sisters who play tennis as well. I've got courts right next to my house. I mean, you've got about ten courts there. That's how I started at a young age. Everyone in India plays sport, so that's how I really get into tennis.
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At $50K Carson Challenger, California, USA

[SF] (4) Harsh Mankad (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) l (1) Scott Lipsky (USA)/ David Martin (USA) 16 46

This was expected result against top-50 doubles pair ... But its heratening to see how they played close second set ... Harsh and Purav also pairing in next week's Dallas Challenger.

Tennis News
At Australian Open 2009, Melbourne

Mixed Doubles
[SF] Sania Mirza (IND)/ Mahesh Bhupathi (IND) bt Iveta Benesova (CZE)/ Lukas Dlouhy (CZE) 64 61

[F] Sania Mirza (IND)/ Mahesh Bhupathi (IND) vs Nathalie Dechy (FRA)/ Andy Ram (ISR)

Junior Boys' Singles
[SF] (1) Yuki Bhambri (IND,2) bt (7) Adrien Puget (FRA,20) 64 64

[F] (1) Yuki Bhambri (IND,2) vs Alexandros-Ferdinandos Georgoudas (GER,56)

Doubles
[SF] (1) Yuki Bhambri (IND)/ Liang-Chi Huang (TPE) l Mikhal Biryukov (RUS)/ Yasutaka Uchiyama (JPN) 36 16

In the first set both pair traded early breaks but important break came in 9th game ... With that break Mahesh and Sania won first set in 32 mins ... In the second set they broke Czech pair's serve in 1st,5th and 7th games to won match in only 54 mins ... In the final they r facing French-Israeli pair.

Yuki started well breaking Puget's serve in the second game and with that single break he won first set in 37 mins ... In the second set Yuki broke Puget's serve in the first game but Puget immediately break back to made it 1-all ... But Puget surged ahead breaking Yuki's serve in 4th game ... But Yuki turned table from 1-4 to won next 5 games ... Yuki came back strongly after slip up in 2nd set from 1-4 down he allowed Puget to win just 3 points of next 23 points (while he won 20 points) ... He broke Puget's serve in 7th and 9th games to won this match in 1 hr 19 mins to move into Australian Open Junior Boys' Singles final ... So with that he became first Indian player after Leander Paes to reach Junior Grandslam final ... But in doubles semi-final, he and his Taipei partner lost in just 42 mins ... I feel playing so many matches in last 2 weeks take toll on Yuki ... May be its good considering now he can concentrate more to his singles final.

I m still impressed with Yuki ... Yuki is showing how much he talented and improved these days from the way he is dominating this junior section ... May be very few junior players can give him trouble .. But what a display of game and mental toughness by him .. Coming back from 1-4 down and in a such dominating way winning next 20 pts of 23 they played .. Simply amazing .. This kid is awesome!!! Truly THE talent which we r searching at junior level for many years.

In the final he is facing German unseeded player, who defeated 2nd seed player in straight sets.
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At $50K Carson Challenger, California, USA

[R2] Prakash Amritraj (IND,209) l Wayne Odesnik (USA,115) 26 46

Doubles
[QF] (4) Harsh Mankad (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) bt Luka Gregorc (SCO)/ Andrea Stoppini (ITA) 63 64

[SF] (4) Harsh Mankad (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) vs (1) Scott Lipsky (USA)/ David Martin (USA)

Good easy straight sets victory for our pair ... With their performance as per seeding will help Harsh to push his ranking towards 175 in doubles ... In semis they r having very tough opponents, who r regular on tour and r in top-50 doubles ranking.
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At $25K Laguna Nigel Challenger, CA, USA

[R1] (8) Sunitha RAO (IND,196) l Alina JIDKOVA (RUS,237) 46 75 46

Doubles
[R1] Sunitha Rao (IND)/ Alexandra Panova (RUS) l (WC) Anne Yelsey (USA)/ Riza Zalameda (USA) 60 67(3) (4)10

Sunitha's disappointing performance continue at challenger level.

Tennis News
At Australian Open 2009, Melbourne

[SF] (3) Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Mark Knowles (BAH) bt Lukasz Kubot (POL)/ Oliver Marach (AUT) 63 61
[SF] (4) Leander Paes (IND)/ Lukas Dlouhy (CZE) l (2) Bob Bryan (USA)/ Mike Bryan (USA) 36 36

[F] (3) Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Mark Knowles (BAH) vs (2) Bob Bryan (USA)/ Mike Bryan (USA)

Junior Boys' Singles
[QF] (1) Yuki Bhambri (IND,2) bt Richard Becker (GER,55) 61 75

[SF] (1) Yuki Bhambri (IND,2) vs (7) Adrien Puget (FRA,20)

Doubles
[QF] (1) Yuki Bhambri (IND)/ Liang-Chi Huang (TPE) bt (5) Julien Obry (FRA)/ Adrien Puget (FRA) 76(4) 64

[SF] (1) Yuki Bhambri (IND)/ Liang-Chi Huang (TPE) vs Mikhal Biryukov (RUS)/ Yasutaka Uchiyama (JPN)

Very dominating performance by Mahesh and Mark to finished match inside 1 hr mark ... In complete match they didn't face single break point and they converted 4 of 5 break-point chances.

After winning first set in just 22 mins Yuki stretched in 2nd set by Becker ... Becker converted 1 break-point from 2 chances but Yuki converted 5 break-point chances from 7 he generated, 2 of them in 2nd set ... Yuki finished match in 1 hr and 12 mins to move into semis ... Yuki also reached in doubles semis with fighting win over 5th seed French pair, their he and his Taipei partner will face unseeded pair.

Today again Lee and Lukas struggled against Bryans ... They had very poor record against these twins and today Bryans again showed their mastery over pair of Lee and Lukas in 54 mins ... Lee and Lukas converted both break-point chances in this match but other hand Bryans able to create 8 break-point chances and converted 5 of them ... Disappointing performance by Lee and Lukas.
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At $50K Carson Challenger, California, USA

[R1] (4) Harsh Mankad (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) bt Santiago Gonzalez (MEX)/ Giovanni Lapentti (ECU) 63 36 10(7)
[R1] Prakash Amritraj (IND)/ Scoville Jenkins (USA) l (WC) Rylan Rizza (USA)/ Kaes Van't Hof (USA) 46 67(4)

[QF] (4) Harsh Mankad (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) vs Luka Gregorc (SCO)/ Andrea Stoppini (ITA)

Good win by Harsh and Purav against experienced players ... But Kash and his partner lost against collegiate players.

Tennis News
At Australian Open 2009, Melbourne

[QF] (4) Leander Paes (IND)/ Lukas Dlouhy (CZE) bt Simone Bolelli (ITA)/ Andreas Seppi (ITA) 61 76(5)

Mixed Doubles
[QF] Sania Mirza (IND)/ Mahesh Bhupathi (IND) bt Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN)/ Daniel Nestor (CAN) 36 64 10(5)

[SF] Sania Mirza (IND)/ Mahesh Bhupathi (IND) vs Iveta Benesova (CZE)/ Lukas Dlouhy (CZE)

Junior Boys' Singles
[R3] (1) Yuki Bhambri (IND,2) bt (13) Dino Marcan (CRO,32) 63 61

Yuki continued with his dominance over other players from second round ... He is looking more and more solid after every match.

Sania and Mahesh scored comeback victory over strong Canadian pair ... Next they r facing Czech pair, who received walkover in quarters.

Leander and Lukas scored straights sets victory against Italians in 1 hr 8 mins ... After losing first set in just 21 mins with 2 breaks Italians produced fighting performance in second set ... Where nobody able to broke opponent's serve, in tie-break both traded few mini-breaks before our pair take decisive break on opponents's serve at 6-5 to won this match.

Tennis News
At $50K Carson Challenger, California, USA

[R1] (8) Somdev Devvarman (IND,155) l Scoville Jenkins (USA,215) 16 46
[R1] Prakash Amritraj (IND,209) bt (WC) Lester Cook (USA,354) 76(3) 63

Doubles
[R1] Somdev Devvarman (IND)/ Ashutosh Singh (IND) l Brendan Evans (USA)/ Jesse Levine (USA) 36 57

Good win for Kash but very forgettable outing at Carson Challenger for Som ... Who watched match live commented that Somdev simply had a bad day and Scoville was playing unbelievably well ... Somdev comments to one of my friend after missing his match, "Don't feel bad for missing the match; you didn't miss much. I played pretty badly today".

Kash also had patchy match where both players had numerous breaks ... But in end Kash came out as a winner.

 Tennis News
At Australian Open 2009, Melbourne

[QF] (3) Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Mark Knowles (BAH) bt Feliciano Lopez (ESP)/ Fernando Verdasco (ESP) 61 26 64

[SF] (3) Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Mark Knowles (BAH) vs Lukasz Kubot (POL)/ Oliver Marach (AUT)

Mixed Doubles
[R2] (1) Cara Black (ZIM)/ Leander Paes (IND) l Patty Schnyder (SUI)/ Wesley Moodie (RSA) 16 57

Junior Boys' Singles
[R2] (1) Yuki Bhambri (IND,2) bt Stephen Hoh (AUS,98) 76(1) 60
[R2] Kaza Vinayak Sharma (IND,79) l Justin Eleveld (NED,46) 16 16

[R3] (1) Yuki Bhambri (IND,2) vs (13) Dino Marcan (CRO,32)

Doubles
[R2] (1) Yuki Bhambri (IND)/ Liang-Chi Huang (TPE) bt Marco Bortolotti (ITA)/ Vladzimir Kruk (BLR) 63 64

Junior Girls' Doubles
[R2] Eugenie Bouchard (CAN)/ Kyra Shroff (IND) l (6) Christina McHale (USA)/ Ajla Tomljanovic (CRO) 46 16

Yuki scored straight sets victory against local player ... In this match Yuki didn't face any break point on his serve, surprisingly both players didn't face any break point in the first set but from tie-break Yuki shifted gear to score easy victory ... In doubles also Yuki moved into quarter-final with his Taipei partner with straight sets victory in 66 mins.

In doubles, Mahesh and Mark won first set comfortably in 26 mins breaking Spanish pairs serve twice ... But in second set Spanish pair turned table on our pair to won it easily in 27 mins this time they broke our pair service games twice ... In third set both pair managed to hold their serve until 4-all but in 9th game Mahesh and Mark take important break and then served for the match to win it in 1 hr 28 mins.

In MXD, Lee and Cara didn't click in this match ... They easily lost first set in just 21 mins where their opponent broke their service games twice ... In second set they tried comeback breaking Schnyder/ Moodie serve but Schnyder/ Moodie broke their service games twice in a row to finished match in1 hr 4 mins.

Tennis News
At $50K Carson Challenger, California, USA

[Q1] Ashutosh Singh (IND,875) l Justin O'Neal (USA,612) 16 36
[Q1] Purav Raja (IND,892) bt Brian Battistone (USA,1052) 76(4) 64

[Q2] Purav Raja (IND,892) l (3) Phillip Simmonds (USA,417) 62 36 16

[R1] (8) Somdev Devvarman (IND,155) vs Scoville Jenkins (USA,215)
[R1] Prakash Amritraj (IND,209) vs (WC) Lester Cook (USA,354)

Doubles
[R1] (4) Harsh Mankad (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) vs Santiago Gonzalez (MEX)/ Giovanni Lapentti (ECU)
[R1] Somdev Devvarman (IND)/ Ashutosh Singh (IND) vs Brendan Evans (USA)/ Jesse Levine (USA)
[R1] Prakash Amritraj (IND)/ Scoville Jenkins (USA) vs (WC) Rylan Rizza (USA)/ Kaes Van't Hof (USA)

Somdev is seeded in this Carson Challenger, our both players having good singles draw ... Also our quite few players participating in doubles.

Tennis News
At Australian Open 2009, Melbourne

[R3] (4) Leander Paes (IND)/ Lukas Dlouhy (CZE) bt Paul Hanley (AUS)/ Jordan Kerr (AUS) 62 75
[R3] (3) Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Mark Knowles (BAH) bt Nicolas Lapentti (ECU)/ Tommy Robredo (ESP) 63 64

[QF] (4) Leander Paes (IND)/ Lukas Dlouhy (CZE) vs Simone Bolelli (ITA)/ Andreas Seppi (ITA)
[QF] (3) Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Mark Knowles (BAH) vs Feliciano Lopez (ESP)/ Fernando Verdasco (ESP)

Junior Boys' Singles
[R1] Kaza Vinayak Sharma (IND,79) bt Patrk Brydolf (SWE,71) 64 62
[R1] Sudarwa Sitaram (IND,86) l Pierre-Hugues Herbert (FRA,54) 36 46

[R2] Kaza Vinayak Sharma (IND,79) vs Justin Eleveld (NED,46)

Doubles
[R1] Ronak Manuja (IND)/ Kaza Vinayak Sharma (IND) l Luke Saville (AUS)/ Jack Schipanski (AUS) 67(1) 06
[R1] (1) Yuki Bhambri (IND)/ Liang-Chi Huang (TPE) bt Gabriel Dias (BRA)/ German Sanchez Delfin (MEX) 75 63
[R1] Toni Androic (CRO)/ Sudarwa Sitaram (IND) l (7) Francis Casey Alcantara (PHI)/ Cheng-Peng Hsieh (TPE) 36 46

[R2] (1) Yuki Bhambri (IND)/ Liang-Chi Huang (TPE) vs Marco Bortolotti (ITA)/ Vladzimir Kruk (BLR)

Junior Girls' Singles
[R1] Kyra shroff (IND,87) l Monika Tumova (CZE,53) 06 36

Doubles
[R1] Eugenie Bouchard (CAN)/ Kyra Shroff (IND) bt Ema Burgic (BIH)/ Chanel Simmonds (RSA) 61 Retd.
[R1] Tanvi Shah (IND)/ Rashmi Teltumbde (IND) l Ester Goldfeld (USA)/ Hannah James (GBR) 46 67(5)

[R2] Eugenie Bouchard (CAN)/ Kyra Shroff (IND) vs (6) Christina McHale (USA)/ Ajla Tomljanovic (CRO)

Solid wins by Lee and Mahesh with their respective partners to moved into quarter-fionals of AO ... Mahesh and Mark showed their experience while beating singles specialist ... But Lee and Lukas had tricky match against local pair, they won tight second set to broke Kerr's serve in 12th game where crowd was against them.

In Junior, Kaza Vinayak Sharma scored upset win over higher ranked Swedish boy ... In doubles top-seed Yuki with Liang-Chi Huang had winning start ... Kyra and her Canadian partner also won when their opponents conceded match after losing the first set.

Golf News
At Qatar Masters, Doha, Qatar - Final Standing

T16 Jeev Milkha Singh 70 72 70 67 -9 € 24485.86
T50 Jyoti Randhawa 71 70 72 73 -2 € 7545.72

Jeev kept his best performance of Qatar Masters for the last round ... He scored 5 under round to finish inside top-20 ... This good performance helped him to keep his #33 WGR.