Somdev scores stunning win on clay

Clay is supposed to the weakest surface for Somdev Devvarman - but the Indian No. 1 player continued his breakthrough season on the ATP tour with a remarkable 7-6 (8-6), 2-6, 7-6 (10-8) win over world no. 26 Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and advance to the quarter-finals of the Serbia Open in Belgrade.

Devvarman broke the Spaniard's serve to go up 2-1 in the final set but then Garcia-Lopez won three games in a row to set up what seemed like a formidable 4-2 lead in the decider. but Devvarman fought back to take the set into a tie-break where he once again found himself coming back from 2-4 down to win the marathon 10-8 in the tie-breaker.

The Indian saved 10 of 16 breakpoints on his serve while coverting 4 out of 5 on his opponent's.

The match lasted 3 hours and 13 minutes and Devvarman will now play either local favourite Janko Tipsarevic, who he beat in the Davis Cup in Serbia just last month, or Mischa Zverev.

The win assures Devvarman 45 ranking points and will see him move to a new career-high of no. 67 in next week's rankings.

World no. 2 and the hottest player in tennis Novak Djokovic is also competing in this tournament and Devvarman could meet the Serb, who is 25-0 this year, in the semi-finals of this ATP 250 event.

Sania Mirza reaches quarter-finals of the Family Circle Cup

India's top ranked woman player Sania Mirza won her 5th match in Charleston to reach the quarter-finals of the Family Circle Cup clay court event.

Mirza, who came through the qualifying draw, beat Germany's Sabine Lisicki on Thursday 6-4, 6-4. In the quarter-finals she will play No.11 seed Peng Shuai, who missed out on four match points at 5-4 in the second set but rebounded in the third for a 63 57 62 win over No.7 seed Nadia Petrova.

Sania has struggled on clay in the previous years. She will receive 132 WTA ranking points for her efforts this week which will see her rise to around #72 in the rankings from he current rank of #90. Sania had begun the year at No. 160 in the WTA rankings and is not defending any points until the French Open since she was injured at this time last year.

Meanwhile at the US Clay Court Championships in Houston, India's Somdev Devvarman was beaten by Sapnish clay court specialist Guillermo Garcia Lopez, the #3 seed. Garcia-Lopez won 6-4, 6-1 in the second round encounter.

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

Wild Cards announced for Indian Wells

India's Sania Mirza has received a wild card into the main draw for the upcoming BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, which hosts the combined ATP & WTA event next week. Mirza has moved from the 160's in January to no. 106 in the latest WTA rankings.

Also, former Wimbledon finalist Mark Phillippoussis has received a wild card into the qualifying tournament for the men's singles as he attempts another comeback from injuries.

Up-and-coming tennis players Milos Raonic, Kei Nishikori, Ryan Harrison, Bernard Tomic, Coco Vandeweghe and Christina McHale were also granted wildcards into the main draws for the BNP Paribas Open, which begins next week at Indian Wells.

Veterans James Blake, Vania King, and Jill Craybas were also given wildcards into the main draws.

Raonic, ranked No. 37 on the ATP World Tour after finishing 2010 at No. 156, advanced to the fourth round of the Australian Open this year. A few weeks ago, the 20-year-old Canadian captured his first ATP World Tour title in San Jose and reached the finals at Memphis in back-to-back weeks to become the highest-ranked Canadian singles player in the history of ATP rankings (since 1973).

Nishikori, of Japan, is No. 62 in the world while Harrison, 18, and originally from Louisiana, defeated Ivan Ljubicic in the first round at Indian Wells last year. Australia's Tomic reached the third round of the Australian Open this year before falling to World No. 1 Rafael Nadal.

On the women’s side, Vandeweghe, from San Diego, was part of the U.S. Fed Cup team that competed in the finals against Italy last November. McHale also helped the U.S. Fed Cup team to the finals last year by assisting in a win over France early in 2010.

Qualifying draw wildcards were given to four men’s players: 1999 BNP Paribas Open champion Mark Philippoussis, who is attempting a comeback; American Ryan Sweeting, who reached the third round of Wimbledon last year; Steve Johnson, who is the No. 1 singles and doubles player at USC; and Greg Ouellette, who is a former Southeastern Conference player of the year.

Former top 30 German star Sabine Lisicki and three young Americans -- Madison Keys, Madison Brengle and Maria Sanchez -- along with rising Puerto Rican junior Monica Puig were granted wildcards into the women’s qualifying draw.

Source: Los Angeles Times

Federer beats Somdev 6-3, 6-3

It's not everyday that an Indian tennis player takes on one of the all-time greats of the sport. So naturally Indian tennis fans were savouring when the draw for this week's Dubai Open was out and they learnt that Somdev Devvarman would be taking on none other than Roger Federer. The last time interest around a match was so high here was when Sania Mirza took on Serena Williams in the Australian Open six years ago. Not many were expecting Somdev to upset Roger but that didn't stop a billion people from hoping for a mircale.

The Centre Court was with Indian expats who account for a sizable portion of the local populaiton here and they were firmly behind the Indian. From the very start, it was evdient that this was going to be a tough night for Somdev. He needed 3 deuces to hold his first service game and came from 0-30 behind to hold his second while Federer breezed through his early service games. Devvarman, who needed a wild card to get into the tournament, double faulted down breakpoint at 2-3 to hand Federer the lead. One break was all Federer needed as he wrapped up the first set 6-3in 30 minutes.

In the second set, Devvarman saved 2 breakpoints to hold for 2-1 and had his only chance when he earned 2 breakpoints on the Swiss' serve. But Federer managed to escape and broke Somdev immediately in the next game as he went on to win the second set 6-3 as well.

Somdev certainly did not embarass himself againt the player widely regarded as the greatest ever to play the game. Interestingly,I thought he played more aggresively against Federer than he has against lower ranked opponents in his matches that I have seen in the past and he even won a fair amount of the points when he was playing agressively. That's certainly a good sign for Som, who should be using that same strategy against other players if he is to move further in the rankings. His ranking, currently at a career high #79, will likely drop to #97 after failing to defend his second round points from last year's event but the confidence and leanrings form his defeat today could help him evenntually go higher.

Sania loses; Joachim Johansson returns

India's Sania Mirza has lost in the first round of the qualifying draw for the WTA event in Pattaya. Mirza was beaten by Galina Voskoboeva 6-4, 6-4 for the second time in three career meetings. The Russian ranked #560 in the world, did not play in 2010 after the French Open due to injury and is now trying to get back to her career best rank of #94.

In the ATP Challenger event in Italy, Sweden's Joachim Johansson has been granted a wild card. The former world #9 attempted a comeback from injury in 2009 but has played only one event in all of 2010 - Sweden's Davis Cup tie in March. Another wild card entrant in the same event is former world #12 Dominik Hrbaty. The 33 year old Slovak is now ranked #459 in the world.

In the latest ATP rankings, Somdev Devvarman moves to a new career high ranking of #80 after reaching the final of the SA Open in Johannesburg. Also, India's third ranked player Vishnu Vardhan moves up 36 positions to #354 after the points of reaching the finals of the ITF Cambodia F1 Futures were added to his tally.

Finally, a little known 16 year old Indian Ramkumar Ramanathan has won two matches and is now one win away from qualifying for the ITF Futures event in Spain beng played on clay.Ramanathan beat 16th seed Toby Martin of Great Britain 6-2, 6-4 in the first round and then beat Spaniard Carlos Tajes Alonso 6-0, 6-0 and now plays 8th seed Marco Bortolotti of Italy in the final round of qualifying.

Somedev reaches semis of ATP South African Open

India's Somdev Devvarman advanced to his second ever semi-final on the ATP Tour with a 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 victory over local favourite Rik De Voest at the SA Tennis Open in Johannesburg. The Commonwealth gold medallist has been this far in an ATP event only once before when he reached the finals of the ATP event in Chennai.
Devvarman's opponent in the semis will be another South African Izak van der Merwe . The 170th ranked wild card entrant defeated Simon Greul of Germany 7-6 (5), 6-2. The 170th-ranked Van der Merwe broke his opponent twice in the second set to win at Montecasino.

Devvarman reached the quarter-finals here last year and besides defending those points, he will gain an additional 45 ranking points atleast which will move him back close to his career best ranking of #94. A win in the semis tomorrow will assure him of a new career best ranking in the late 70s next week.

Meanwhile in the ITF Futures in Cambodia, top seed Karan Rastogi beat compatriot Ranjeet Virali-Murugesan 6-1, 6-0 to advance to the finals where he will face another Indian Vijau Sundar Prashanth, who beat Arata Onozawa, of Japan, 6-2, 7-5. The result will ensure that Rastogi will move into the top 300 in the world for the first time in his career when the points gets added to his ranking. A commendabl effort for someone who was not ranked at all just 16 months ago due to injury.