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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THE LOVE CHRONICLES

PART I -

It was January 1999 when she first caught my attention. I was 19 and she was 15 – long ponytailed with a mole under her chin. There was something that attracted me to her. But that was that. I was already committed to another woman – my childhood sweetheart, who I had adored since I was 8 or 9 years old. I was going to be hers forever.

In June that year, the 15 year old captured my attention once again. A month later, my childhood sweetheart called time on our relationship. It was time to move on, she declared. I didn't want to understand. But deep down, I did. I wished her the best and struggled to cope with the gaping emptiness inside me.

I decided it was time for me to move on too – and find someone else. In the years that followed, there were lots of other women. A one-time rival of my childhood sweetheart, an American, a Belgian, a Frenchwoman, an Indian – even the 15 year old held my fancy for a while. But with each new woman came the realisation that maybe the void inside me would never be filled.

The 15 year old went on to achieve great success on her professional front, even as she struggled with her tyrannical father – the sorts who would make a very evil villian in a fairytale or a Bollywood movie. A few years later, she dropped out of my radar and the world's, struggling with personal & health issues. Every now and then, I'd hear an update about her – one that she cut off ties from her father – another that she was attempting to get back to her profession.

In January 2009, 10 years after I first noticed the then 15 year old, she was back in my life – in the midst of a professional upsurge. She poured her heart out. She spoke openly about the problems she had with her father, her physical ailments & the depression that followed. Some days, she said, she didn't feel like getting out of bed at all. I couldn't help but feel for her. I encouraged her – cheered every new success – thought maybe she was the one after all who could fill the emptiness inside me. But things don't always work out the way you plan. I didn't see much of her in the months ahead. To be fair to her, she tried her best this time but maybe it just wasn't meant to be.

In the last few months, I've been seeing a lot more of her. At 28, she's more mature now and knows this could well be her last chance. At 31, I'm older and wiser too. My notions & ideals have changed. I'm not looking for anyone to replace my childhood sweetheart anymore – just for someone exciting enough to get me going for a few days/ weeks/ months. Until I come across that special someone again. I'm not sure if I will. But hope is what the world is built on they say and the now 28 year old has been giving me plenty to be hopeful about once again.

I still pine for my childhood sweetheart. It's hard not to. In the years since she left me, I'd read about her occasionally – at charity events, exhibitions, there was even the ceremony where she was honoured by her fellow professionals. Sometimes, I'd watch old vidoes and reminisce about the days gone by. I hope some day in the future our paths will cross again. But she has found her happiness away from me, with a wonderful man and two adorable children. I'm working hard on finding mine and so is my new sweetheart!!



PART II -
It was January 1999 when Jelena Dokic first caught my attention. I was 19 and she was 15 – long ponytailed with a mole under her chin and fierce groundstrokes. There was something that attracted me to this Yugolsav-born Australian resident. But that was that. I was already committed to another woman – Steffi Graf, who I had adored since I was 8 or 9 years old. I was going to be hers forever.

In June that year, Dokic captured my attention once again - stunning the world No. 1 Martina Hingis 6-2, 6-0 in the first round of Wimbledon. A month later, Graf called time on her career. It was time to move on, she declared. I didn't want to understand. But deep down, I did. I wished her the best and struggled to cope with the gaping emptiness inside me now that my favourite player had retired.

I decided it was time for me to move on too – and find someone else to root for. In the years that followed, there were lots of other women. Monica Seles, a one-time rival of Graf, was a big favourite since returning from her unfortunate stabbing; American Jennifer Capriati, whose journey from teenage superstardom to rehab and back to Grand Slam glory won her legions of fans including me; Belgium's Kim Clijsters, France's Mary Pierce, India's Sania Mirza; even Dokic held my fancy for a while. But with each new woman came the realisation that maybe the void inside me would never be filled.

Dokic went on to achieve great success on the professional circuit, climbing all the way to world no. 4 in 2002, even as she struggled with her tyrannical father – the sorts who would make a very evil villian in a fairytale or a Bollywood movie. A few years later, she dropped out of my radar and the world's, struggling with personal & health issues. Every now and then, I'd hear an update about her – one that she cut off ties from her father – another that she was attempting to get back to the professional tennis scene.

In January 2009, 10 years after I first noticed her, Dokic was back in my life – in the midst of a Cindrella run at the Australian Open, where she marched her way to the quarter-finals as the 187th ranked wild card entrant. She poured her heart out. She spoke openly about the problems she had with her father, her physical injuries & the depression that followed. Some days, she said, she didn't feel like getting out of bed at all. I couldn't help but feel for her. I encouraged her – cheered every new success – thought maybe she was the one after all who could fill the emptiness inside me. But things don't always work out the way you plan. I didn't see much of her in the months ahead as she was unable to build on the momentum of her run in Melbourne. To be fair to her, she tried her best this time but maybe it just wasn't meant to be.

In the last few months, I've been seeing a lot more of Dokic. At 28, she's more mature now and knows this could well be her last chance. At 31, I'm older and wiser too. My notions & ideals have changed. I'm not looking for anyone to replace Graf anymore – just for someone exciting enough to get me going for a few days/ weeks/ months. Until I come across that special someone again. I'm not sure if I will. But hope is what the world is built on they say and Dokic has been giving me plenty to be hopeful about once again. She won 3 back-to-back challengers on the ITF Tour last summer. She began 2011 with main draw victories at the WTA event in Brisbane and the Australian Open, then qualified for the WTA Paris Indoors and went all the way to the quarter-finals. This week in Kuala Lampur, Dokic scored her first top 5 win in 8 years with an opening round victory over reigning French Open champion Francesca Schiavone en route to winning her first WTA title in 9 years – moving back into the top 60 in the world.

I still pine for Graf. It's hard not to. In the years since she retired, I'd read about her occasionally – at charity events, exhibition matches, and there was even the Hall of Fame induction where she was honoured by her fellow professionals. Sometimes, I'd watch old vidoes and reminisce about the days gone by. I hope some day in the future our paths will cross again. But she has found her happiness away from me, with a wonderful man and two adorable children. I'm working hard on finding mine and so is my new favourite – Jelena Dokic!!

Read me at http://on.fb.me/eG4o3o; E-mail me at hareshramchandani@gmail.com; Follow me on Twitter @TennisChroniclr

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.

When an Indian upset the world's best tennis player

There were three upsets to choose from in round three of the Pilot Pen International hardcourt tournament, but the one involving world number 100 Leander Paes and world number two Pete Sampras was easily the highlight.

The top three seeds -- Pete Sampras, Patrick Rafter and Petr Korda in that order-- all crashed out in the third-round on a dramatic day.

Reigning Wimbledon champion Pete Sampras lost 6-3, 6-4 to India's number one Leander Paes.

Frenchman Guillaume Raoux meanwhile ousted U.S. Open champion Rafter 7-6 (10-8), 6-3, while Bohdan Ulihrach beat fellow Czech Korda 7-6 (8-6), 6-3.

Leander had his inside-out forehand working lethally in the first set, and the running forehand working on song in the second set.

As Leander himself said before the tournament, his service was working smoothly again. He broke his own personal service speed record with a 120 mph one down the middle in this match. His previous best was 118 mph against Pioline at the US Open last year.

Leander constantly troubled Sampras with his quickness and placements, breaking him in the 6th game of the first set to go up 4-2. He was down three break points, at 0-40, in the next game, but went on to serve it out and take the first set 6-3.

In the second set, Paes took Sampras to deuces at 1-1 and 2-2, and then faced break points on his own serve at 2-3. But again, he held on to his nerve, and evened it to 3-3. Paes then faced a break point on serve at 3-4, but survived that one as well.

Then came an all out battle, with Paes taking the honours by breaking Sampras for a 5-4 lead. The Indian then came up with 3 aces in a row to ice the game, set, and match.

Coming into this tournament, Pete Sampras was on a mental edge, following his defeat at the hands of Patrick Rafter the previous Sunday. The final point of that game was a Rafter ace, called out by the line judge before the umpire overruled the call and made it good.

An agitated Sampras had protested at the time and, earlier in this tournament, said the incident still weighed heavily on his mind.

In this game, Sampras again seemed hassled by a reversed call by the umpire at deuce on Leander's serve in the 7th game of the first set. The world number two kept muttering at the umpire and lost focus for a while.

Sampras also did not seem to have the speed in his legs that he needed. His usually impeccable serve was also not on song, with Leander actually out-acing Sampras 7-4 in the match.

The win gives Leander 26 more tournament points, plus a 45 point bonus for beating the world number two -- a total of 71 points from the match, and 119 overall in the tournament thus far, for having in earlier rounds dumped the higher ranked Marc Rosset in round one and followed it up with an upset of former French Open champ Sergei Bruguera in round two.

The points he has gained thus far should see him make a qualititative leap, to somewhere between 77-70 in the ATP rankings when they are released next Monday.

Leander was ranked number 162 in March with over two-thirds of his 280 points to be defended over. From that point on, he has been on a roll, in the process taking his first ever career singles title at the Hall of Fame championships last month.

In the quarterfinals to be played today, he meets eighth seed Goran Ivanisevic, ranked 16 this week on the ATP.

In their personal head to head, the two players stand at 1-1. They first clashed in the Davis Cup in 1995, when Leander beat Ivanisevic in a massive five-set battle, 6-7, 4-6, 7-6, 6-4, 6-1.

The next was a 7-6, 6-3 win by Ivanisevic in 1997 at the Queensland tournament, again on grass.

"I felt very flat. Playing three weeks in a row has taken its toll emotionally. You can't afford to be flat in this league," said Sampras, who plans to return home to Orlando, Florida, to recharge for the U.S. Open.

"Losing before the Slams is not as bad as losing in the Slam," Sampras said.

"Losing is not good for the confidence, but I know that by the time the U.S. Open comes along, I'll be ready," said Sampras.

Paes, who won the doubles title here last year in tandem with friend and partner Mahesh Bhupathi, said his strategy was to 'chip and charge' and get to the net.

"I think that he served under-par today, and that allowed me to get to the net," said Paes.

"My main thing was to take the match to him. If you let Pete Sampras dictate the match, you pretty much have no chance," he said.

Ironically, after winning his Hall of Fame title, Paes had opted out for a while, preferring to practise. And in Florida, his hitting partner was none other than Sampras himself.

It was after one such practise session that Paes injured himself with a fall in the dressing room, and the resulting pain around the rib cage has seen him off colour the last three weeks. He, however, returned full steam -- ironically, against Sampras himself.

However, the euphoria of the singles win was somewhat diluted later the same evening, when the top seeded "Indian Express" doubles pair of Leander Paes/Mahesh Bhupathi lost in the second round.

The Indians went down 3-6, 3-6 to the unseeded pair of Wayne Arthurs and Peter Tramacchi.

After the match, Leander said that "He was a bit down".

Curiously, history repeated itself here. Every time the Indians are seeded to meet the Australian ace pair of Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde in a final, one of the two combos suffers an early exit.

Leander and Mahesh now have to do some hard work in doubles having failed to defend two titles in a row. They have more points to defend at the US Open, and the next two tournaments they play after the US Open are the Singapore open and Beijing open where they have titles to defend.

Source - Rediff.net

THE RISING BRIT

Andy Murray has been shouldering Great Britain’s hopes at the Slams for while now and is treated like British royalty every June when Wimbledon comes around. But you have to go down to no. 211 to find the next British men’s player in the world rankings – 24 year old James Ward. On the women’s side, Elena Baltacha and Anne Keovthavong, both 27 year olds, have established themselves as regulars in the top 100 on the women’s side. That’s two additional wild cards in the hands of the Wimbledon organizers for lower ranked British women. And while the Brits have been holding out for Laura Robson to make her breakthrough on the professional circuit, another Brit teenager is rising up the ranks rapidly and making people, not only in her success-starved homeland, take notice.

Heather Watson will not turn 19 for another 3 months and is already the youngest player in the world’s top 150, with a current ranking of #145 which is only going to rise further thanks to another solid performance in at the WTA event in Memphis this week.

Robson was the first of the two young Brits to hit the headlines when she won the Wimbledon junior girls title in 2008 at the precocious age of 14. Her victory made her the first British player to win the girls' event since Annabel Croft in 1984, and the British media described her as the "new darling" of British tennis as she went on to claim to world #1 junior ranking in April 2009. But Robson is yet to achieve a breakthrough result on the professional tour. Watson, who trains at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida, also has a junior Grand Slam title to her name – the 2009 US Open girls’ singles title. And while Robson is still outside the top 200 in the world rankings, Watson has posted consistent results over the past 12 months that warrant her inclusion in the list of the game’s rising stars.

Coached by Andrew Fisher and a former world no. 3 junior, Watson won her first professional title on the lower-rung ITF circuit in July 2009. In 2010, she posted a solid 36-22 record for the year highlighted by qualifying for the WTA events in Charleston, where she lost to Russian Elena Vesnina in the first round, and in Eastbourne where she also won 2 main draw matches, scoring wins over three top 100 players - Tsvetana Pironkova , Bojana Jovanovski, and Aleksandra Wozniak before losing to Victoria Azarenka in the third round. Watson won two more ITF titles in 2010 – in Britain in July and in Canada in November.

In 2011, Watson has already won 11 of 15 matches, highlighted by her run in Auckland, where she went from the qualifying draw to reach the first quarter-final on tour losing to Shuai Peng. And in this week’s WTA Memphis stop, Watson once again advanced through the qualifying draw and reached another quarter-final, where she was beaten by Russia’s Evgineya Rodina on Thursday.

The right handed Watson, who plays with a two-handed backhand, is not just another blonde ball-basher. Her game is often likened to Martina Hingis and Bollettieri himself has cited the Brit for her amazing footwork. According to Nigel Sears, head of women's coaching at the Lawn Tennis Association, Watson possesses "a complete game", with a massive amount of variety including the consistent use of a one-handed backhand slice, volleys and angles.”

Robson is 19 months younger than Watson and that is enough time for her to make the same strides that Watson has over the past year. But Watson is unlikely to step aside to make way for her younger compatriot. By Wimbledon time, Watson would likely earn enough points to gain direct entry into the main draw while Robson will have to most likely have to depend on a wild card. The expectations from both will be high from the British public, who will be hoping that Kate Middleton is not the only new British royalty to debut at this year’s Championships.


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Sania Mirza advances to the second round of WTA Dubai Open

India's Sania Mirza, ranked #134 in the world, defeated world #64 Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan 6-3, 6-1 in just under an hour to advance to the second round of the WTA Dubai Open. Cheered on by a partisan crowd of Indian expats, Mirza won the match which was the last scheduled match of the evening on the Centre Court for her first WTA Tour main draw win since last September.

Mirza, who had to rely on a wild card to get into the main draw, will now play qualifier world #57 Ayumi Morita of Japan, who upset the hottest player on the tour currently, Petra Kvitova 7-6, 7-6 in 91 minutes. Just two days ago, Kvitova defeated the new world #1 Kim Clijsters in the finals of the WTA Paris Open for her second title of the year.

Mirza's win - her fourth consecutive over her Uzbek opponent - earns her 70 ranking points which will likely move her to around #120 in the new rankings next week. Mirza and Morita have played once before in 2007 when the Indian won in straight sets.