Somdev stuns big serving Milos Raonic

Milos Raonic has been the the breakout star of men's tennis this year, rising from no. 157 in January to the world's top 35 in less than 3 months. But on Friday, Raonic's big serve failed to bail him out against India's Somdev Devvarman in the second round of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.

India's Devvarman won 7-6(5), 7-5 in exactly 2 hours to advance to a potential third round encounter against world no. 6 David Ferrer, of Spain. Raonic hit 12 aces but accompanied it with 7 double faults compared to 6 aces and 2 double faults for the 73rd ranked Indian.

Devvarman started off breaking the Canadian twice in the first set and serving for the set at 5-2. But Raonic saved 4 setpoints and broke back two times to level the set at 5-5 before falling short in the tie-break. In the second, Raonic broke the Indian to lead 4-2 but this time, it was Devvarman who broke back for 4-4 and then broke again with Raonic serving to stay in the match at 5-6.

The Indian was better than Raonic in each department of the game; higher first serve percentage, higher first serve points won, higher second serve points won, higher return points won - but the most crucial stat of the day was Devvarman's breakpoint conversion rate. The Indian converted on 4 of 5 break opportunities while Raonic could convert only on 3 of 8.

The win will send Devvarman into the world's top 70 in the new rankings, his third new career high ranking in the last 2 months.

Somdev, Sania win in Miami

India's top ranked players Somdev Devvarman and Sania Mirza both won their first round matches on Wednesday at the prestigious Sony Ericsson Open in Miami - one of the biggest tennis events outside of the 4 Grand Slams.

Devvarman continued his run of good form with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Italy's Potito Starace, who is ranked no. 47 in the world. The win sets up an intriguing second round clash against Candaian youngster Milos Raonic, who has been the tour's breakout star this year.

Meanwhile, Sania defeated Spain's Arantxa Parra, ranked 62 in the world, 6-2, 6-4 to set up a second round clash against Russian Maria Kirilenko, the no. 24 seed. The result will earn Sania 80 WTA ranking points and will see her move into the upper 90's in the rankings from her current position of no. 99

Yuki Bhambri wins ITF Futures title in Mumbai

I got a chance to see Yuki Bhambri in live action for the first time yesterday as the 18 year old Indian was in the finals of the $15K ITF Futures event in Mumbai. Bhambri is trying to work his ranking back up after injuries and ill-health ravaged his 2010 season – causing his ranking drop from no. 321 in April 2010 to no. 556 at the end of last year

His opponent in the final was the tall Crotian Roko Karanusic, once ranked as high as no. 88 in 2009 but who has since fallen to no. 483. Karanusic started off well as Bhambri made several errros early on. The Croat's heavy forehand and low backhand slice posed several problems for the Indian, who lost the first set 2-6.

The Croat continued to dominate in the second set but this time Bhambri managed to stay close throughout. Karanusic broke serve 3 times but each time was broken back, including when he served for the match at 5-4 in the second set. The Croat held two matchpoints at 40-15 but Bhambri played agressively when it mattered. He saved the first with a crisp forehand volley. On the second, he appraoched the net and hit a drop volley, which clipped the net and took a few seconds before deciding to fall on the Croat's side of the court. Bhambri broke back and the Croat, who had been muttering to himself in his native language throughout the match, got more agitated. The result from then on never seemed in doubt as the Croat's body language and temperament went downhill from there. Bhambri won the second set 7-5 and also the third set 6-3 to complete the win in 1 hour and 45 minutes.

The title was Bhambri's sixth on the ITF Futures circuit – all of which have come in India – but his first since September 2009. The result will move him to around 430 in the rankings – his highest in 8 months.

Inspite of his six foot frame, Bhambri does not look imposing and will definitely need to get stronger if he is going to be competing with the big boys on the ATP tour. But the good news is that the foundations of his game are well set. The 18 year old can hit a big first serve; can rally off his forehand and backhand side and also hit winners from the backcourt when given the opportunity. His movement on court is pretty efficient and he attacked the net to put away volleys at several times in the match. All this augurs well for Indian tennis fans. At 18, Bhambri has a few critical years to make the transition into the pro tour. He will now move on to Kolkatta for the next ITF Futures and he hopes to continue his winning streak there.

Somdev sets up clash against Nadal

India's Somdev Devvarman won the last four points of his third-round match to prevail against Belgian Xavier Malisse 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(5) in two hours and advance to a fourth round ecnounter against world no. 1 Rafael Nadal at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California.

The 26-year-old Devvarman is making his third main draw appearance at an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament, and defeated Adrian Mannarino and No. 19 seed Marcos Baghdatis in the first two rounds.

Devvarman is a two-time NCAA singles champion with the University of Virginia. He defeated John Isner in the 2007 final, and won the title again the following year. He reached his first tour-level final last month at the SA Tennis Open in Johannesburg (l. to Anderson).

Nadal swept past Ryan Sweeting with the loss of four games, defeating the American qualifier 6-3, 6-1 in 68 minutes. The Spaniard, who broke Sweeting four times from seven chances in Monday’s match, had also beaten the 23 year old in January at the Australian Open.

“I didn't play really impressive, but I played solid,” said Nadal, who has conceded just 11 points on serve through his first two matches. “I didn't have big mistakes. I think today the more positive thing is I finished much better than the beginning of the match. In general, I’m happy with the serve, happy with the backhand. Forehand is always my best shot, and I need to be aggressive to have good chances to be in the right position to have a good tournament.”

This week's performance will now see Devvarman climb to a new career-best ranking of around 72 in the world. His previous best ranking was no. 79 achieved last month following his result in Johannesburg

Source: ATP World Tour

Somdev upsets Baghdatis; to move to new career-best ranking

India's Somdev Devvarman continued his recent good form with a 7-5, 6-0 upset win over 19th seed Marcos Baghdatis, of Cyprus, in the second round of the BNP Praibas Open Masters Series. Devvarman won 85% of points on his first serve and hit 14 winners against the former Australian Open finalist to move into the third round of an ATP Masters Series event for the first time in his career.

The Indian will now play the winner of the match between 15th seed Jo-Wilfred Tsonga and Xaiver Malisse, of Belgium, which was scheduled for later today. The win is Somdev's second best career win, after his victory over then world no. 15 Marin Cilic, of Croatia, in Washington in 2009.

The result will also earn Devvarman enough ATP points to achieve a new career high ranking when the ATP rankings are updated on Monday 21st March. Currently ranked no. 84, Devvarman will likely move to around no. 77 in the rankings, besting his current career-high ranking of no. 79 which he achieved a few weeks ago


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Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna are beaten in Indian Wells

India's Sania Mirza was beaten in straight sets by 25th seed Domonika Cibulkova in 80 minutes in the second round of the prestigious BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Cibulkova, a former French Open semi-finalist, won 6-3, 6-3 to set up a third round clash against #3 seed Vera Zvonareva

Meanwhile, Rohan Bopanna went down fighting to Aussie wild card Bernard Tomic 7-6, 6-7, 4-6 in an hour and 48 minutes in first round action. Playing in his first Masters Series, Bopanna served 23 aces in the encounter and lost his serve only once in the third set, saving six other breakpoints while he missed converting the two break opportunities he had in the second set. Tomic is 18 years old and ranked #187 in the world and is among a handful of teenagers widely tipped to be stars in the years to come. Tomic now advances to a second round showdown with world no 18 Victor Troicki. Bopanna's efforts this week in singles will see his ranking move up more than 100 places from his current ranking of #629 but ,at 31, he is still likely to focus on doubles where he is ranked #13. India's top men's player Somdev Devvarman plays his second round match against 19th seed Marcos Bagdhatis on Saturday

Indians shine at Indian Wells

India's leading players scored a rare treble success on Wednesday at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, California - one of tennis' most prestigious events outside of the Grand Slams.

India's top-ranked woman, Sania Mirza, was on court for only 14 minutes when her opponent, Italy's Romina Oprandi, ranked 83 on the WTA list, had to retire with an injury. Mirza will most likely return to the top 100 when the next rankings are released following her win and she will meet 25th seed Domnika Cibulkova in the second round on Friday.

India's top men's player, Somdev Devvarman, currently ranked #84, beat Australian Greg Jones 6-2, 6-4 to qualify for the main draw. Devvarman, who upset Janko Tipsarevic in the Davis Cup on Friday, now takes on 22 year old Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, ranked #59 on the ATP list on Thursday. The two have played once before in the qualifying draw at the French Open in 2010 with Devvarman winning that one 6-4, 6-1. The winner of that match will take on 19th seed Marco Baghdatis in the second round.

The biggest surprise for the Indians came when 31 year old Rohan Bopanna, a doubles specialist who rarely plays singles and is ranked 629 in singles, upset world no. 80 Daniel Brands 7-6, 7-6 to qualify for his first ever Masters series in singles. This is the first time ever that 2 Indians are competing in the main draw of an ATP Masters series event. Bopanna will fancy his chances in the first round as he takes on wild card Aussie tennager Bernard Tomic, especially if his serve is on song. A win there will se up a rematch of Friday's Davis Cup encounter against Victor Toicki, which Troicki won in 5 tough sets.

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