The new Bhambri on the block

Prerna Bhambri is just another young Indian player trying to make it in the world of professional tennis. However, unlike other unknown Indian players, Prerna carries a famous last name in Indian tennis and heavier expectations.

Prerna is the cousin of Yuki, Ankita and Sanaa Bhambri - Yuki is by far the most accomplished of the family having been ranked #1 in the world junior rankings a few years ago and also winning the junior Australian Open singles title. Yuki is still transitioning to the seniors game and is now ranked around 400 in the world.


On Friday at the $10K ITF event in New Delhi, 19 year old Prerna reached her first ITF final when her opponent Desiree Bastianon retired early in the third set of their semi-final. Bhambri was leading 4-6 6-3 1-0 and now plays top seed Keren Shlomo in the final. Shlomo defeated 16 year old Indian Ratnika Batra 1-6 6-1 6-3 in the other semi-final.

“All those guys have really achieved a lot, I think I have a long way to go." Prerna said in an interview to one of the leading Indian newspapers."2010 was a hard year for me. I was in my last year of school, so I had to sit for my exams. I took a complete break from tennis from January to May last year. I was playing perhaps an hour or two of tennis in that period,” she says.

Now ranked 854 in the world on the WTA rankings, Prerna will continue grinding the lower-leagues of world tennis in an attempt to make a famous first name for herself.

The Best Quotes from the Wimbledon Press Room

Bethanie Mattek-Sands on the outfit for her first round match, designed by Alex Noble, who also designs for pop star Lady Gaga
I actually haven't even thought about it. I don't know. I'll have to ask Alex Noble if he wants to do something with it. It was actually very cool working with him, hopefully I'll be able to do it again. It was felt. It was actually almost tennis ball material. It was pretty sweet actually.


Kimiko Date-Krumm on Venus Williams
She's a great player. She's very clever, she smart. For example, when she toss up the serve, then she always watching where I move to, backhand or forehand. She just toss up, and then she watching where I'm standing, the return positions, I think.

Venus Williams on Kimiko Date-Krumm
Yeah, she runs down every ball. She hits every ball basically on the baseline, hard and flat. If you get it anywhere near the mid court, she hits for the corners and comes to the net. I thought she played unbelievable today. I thought she had some luck on her side, too, with net cords, balls hitting lines. I just thought today was a perfect storm for her to try to get a win.Thankfully I had some answers

Venus Williams, when asked who the best looking male player in Wimbledon history was
Usually I've never liked any of my colleagues. I try to keep it professional, hence no tennis relationships. So it's probably for the best for me to stay out of this. I usually like winners, though (smiling). So anyone winning is pretty cute to me.

Rafael Nadal, when asked if he was in decline
Maybe. But I won Roland Garros two weeks ago. I don't forget (smiling). Maybe you or the website yes. After winning Roland Garros, two weeks later is a little bit fast to say I am. You can say that maybe next year, but probably now is a little bit dangerous to say that. But, no, you know, is my seventh year without be out of the top two. Is a lot of years. Probably I started to be decline, but hopefully not. Maybe they are right. I don't know.

Laura Robson, on her recent growth spurt
Yeah, I'm really tall now. You know, I've grown a lot in the last few months. Not anything I've got any control over. Just have to accept the problems that come with it. I'm pretty happy with my height now. Fingers crossed I don't keep growing.




Andy Roddick, on John McEnroe's suggestion that warm-ups aren't necessary
Today I sat around for four and a half hours because the matches went long. I looked at Date and Venus and Rafa and Ryan. There were potentials for those matches to go no disrespect to anybody for those matches to go fast. All of a sudden I've been sitting around for four and a half hours, and he wants me to go serve 145. That's irresponsible is what it is.

Serena Williams, on her tears following her first round win
It definitely hit me at the end of the match. I'm not a cryer, so I don't know. I think it was something in my eyes at one point, but... It definitely was so emotional for me because, you know, throughout the last 12 months, I've been through, you know, a lot of things that's not normal, things you guys don't even know about. So it's just been a long, arduous road. To stand up still is pretty awesome.

Andy Roddick, on friend Serena Williams and her competitive spirit
Well, I think one thing we've never really questioned with Serena is her competitive spirit. I think especially when she gets out there, I think she just hates losing. You know, I don't count her out of any situation. I don't think it surprised anybody in this room if she went on and won this tournament. I don't know how many people you can say that about after a year. And a lot of that she's proven she can even not play well early and then almost play her way into shape. You know, she goes from spring training to mid season in like three days. You can insert whatever superlative you want. She's a fighter. She always has been since I've known her. Since she was eight years old, she's been that way.

Andy Roddick, on the pressures that Andy Murray faces at Wimbledon
Sure. You know, I've been front and center as far as tennis in my own country for a long time. I don't think it compares to what those guys go through here. I don't feel like I can relate. You know, he gets the full rundown of he practiced for 36 minutes, then he ate a Snickers bar and then continued for another 14 minutes, and then it's like and that's on page four. We already read the first three pages of the day. You know, it's a little tough (laughing).

Andy Roddick, when asked if he wouls stay to watch the John Isner – Nichaloas Mahut match
Stay? No. I have to play tomorrow. I can't stay here three nights.

Roger Federer, on staying relatively injury-free in his career
I think it has helped me with injuries, yes, that my game is somewhat casual, but in a good way, because I had to work on my casualness. I was very quickly pointed out that if I'm losing I'm not trying, and if I'm winning it's an amazing situation. So I had to really tie my game together, you know, make it solid casual, really. I think I was able to do that. I worked extremely hard on my fitness and on my mental part of the game. All those things eventually came together and I started to be able to glide around the court with little effort and be very explosive, though.

Novak Djokovic, when asked if he wishes that Caroline Wozniacki was interveiwing him instead
I wish. She's great. We have a lot of fun off court.



Venus Williams, on her much-criticized outfit
It's a jumper. Jumpers are very now, as is lace. The shoulders have a lot of draping, which is also in the moment. It's just kind of like a trendy dress. It's fun. I'm really into zippers, so it has like a focal point of a zipper in the front. It's just fun. The back is kind of I don't know what you call it, like a cutout or like a peek a boo. I'm always trying to do something different and fun. But more lately now I'm really trending towards simplicity. I'm not sure why. It's just how I feel right now. Everything is getting more simple.

Rafael Nadal, when asked who does he see as his toughest opponent from the top 4 players
So let's talk about today. Let's talk about tomorrow. Not let's talk about in 10 days or 12 days, because I don't know if I am here or I am fishing in Mallorca. You never know what's going on in a tournament like this.

Francesca Schiavone, on the rain delay early in the third set of her match against Jelena Dokic
For me it was fantastic because really I start the third set and I couldn't understand why she was playing so aggressive and I couldn't move her. So at the end I say, Something is not working. Of course, when they put the roof, I went back to the locker room and I spoke with Barazzutti. He say something to me, something that was really important. So I came back and I was playing better.

Previewing the Somdev-Youzhny clash

It seems like Somdev Devvarman has been around a long time. But for everything that he has accomplished, the Indian will be playing in the second round of a Grand Slam event for only the second time in his career when he takes on the 18th seeded Mikhail Youzhny at Wimbledon on Thursday.

Devvarman's only previous experience in this stage of a Grand Slam has been in 2009 when he made the second round at the US Open, his Grand Slam debut. The Indian does not favour the grass courts too much, preferring to battle opponents on hardcourts instead and it shows in his career record on grass - a meagre 2-5 win-loss record.

His opponent, the 29 year old Youzhny, also prefers playing on hardcourts - achieving his best results at the US Open where he has twice been as far as the semi-finals. But that he is also an accomplished player on grass. Youzhny has a 36-25 career record on the surface and has reached the 4th round at Wimbledon on five different occasions, the last being 2008.

Youzhny won the pair's only previous meeting in straight sets - in last year's Davis Cup first round encounter.

Inspite of having a better record on tour in 2011 when compared to the Russian (Devvarman is 14-13 for the year while Youzhny is 11-12), Devvarman certainly has his work cut out for him. He will need to play his very best if he is to harbour any hopes of creating an upset.

Prediction - Youzhny in straight sets

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Sania Mirza's knee injury during singles loss leaves doubles participation in doubt

India's top-ranked woman tennis player star Sania Mirza has aggravated her left knee injury during her Wimbledon singles first round defeat to Virginie Razzano which might leave her particpation in the women's doubles and mixed doubles at the grass court major in doubt.

Mirza was carrying a niggling left knee problem and was wearing straps during her 6-7 6-2 3-6 loss to France's Virginie Razzano in the singles first round.

Her doubles participation with Russia's Elena Vesnina now depends on the result of an ultrasound scan. She tweaked her left knee within minutes of starting her singles match but continued and even won the second set despite being unable to change direction due to her injury flare-up.

"I've had the same injury since just before the French Open. I've been playing a lot on it," Sania said after her singles match. "I tweaked it in the first set. I served and fell on the leg, tried to change direction and jerked it. I was already on painkillers but immediately the pain level went up 10 times. "I have to see the doctor and get an ultrasound scan. It is very, very painful. I can still serve but I can't move and change direction. I'm hurting to go up and down stairs and even to walk," she said.

Sania admitted that the punishing round of singles, doubles and qualifiers took its toll and she would take rest after the Wimbledon. "Tennis takes a lot out of you physically and emotionally. I've been playing for 12 months continuously.It's not easy on the body. "From the French Open until Birmingham, I had 21 days of no day off. That's ridiculous on the body. Anyone's body's going to collapse. But that's the way the season is. "I was going to take a little off season after Wimbledon but depending on what my knee says I'll decide what to do."

With inputs from PTI

Sania Mirza suffers disappointing loss at Wimbledon

India's top-ranked woman tennis player Sania Mirza suffered a first round defeat at Wimbledon earlier today, losing to France's Virginie Razzano in three sets.

60th ranked Mirza was beaten 6-7, 6-2, 3-6 in 132 minutes on Court no. 9 to the 96th ranked Razzano. The Indian had several chances in the first set, breaking to lead 4-2 and also having two chances to go up a double break on Razzano. But Razzano fought back to hold serve for 4-3 and then broke the Indian when she was serving for the set. Razzano completed the comeback winning the first in a tie-break by a 7-4 margin.

In the second set, Mirza used her powerful forehand winning 6-2. The third set stayed on serve till 3-3 until Razzano picked her game to win 3 successive games and the match.

Razzano recently suffered a personal setback when her fiance and coach died of a brain tumour just one week before the French Open. Razzano still played in Roland Garros to fulfill a promise she made to her late fiance.

Razzano will now play world no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki in the second round while Mirza will focus on the doubles where she and partner Elena Vesnina are seeded fourth.

THE NUMBERS GAME

THE WORLD NO. 1 RANKING FOR THE MEN
Courtesy Sally Easton and the Wimbledon site, here is a look at the possible scenarios for the ATP rankings post the grass court major.

Novak Djokovic needs to reach the final of Wimbledon to take over the world no. 1 ranking from Rafael Nadal. The only way Nadal can retain his top slot is by winning Wimbledon and hoping Djokovic does not get to the final. Djokovic currently trails Nadal by only 65 ranking points (12,070 vs 12,005).

If Nadal does not reach the final, the Serb will take the ATP ranking lead, even if he goes out in the first round (or any later round) himself.

Nadal could also be vulnerable from world No. 3, Roger Federer. If Federer wins, and Nadal goes out before the final, the Swiss will jump to no.2 in the rankings, forcing Nadal down to no. 3.

THE ACTUAL ODDS OF THE ISNER MAHUT REMATCH
Thanks to CNN Sports Illustrated editor Jon Wertheim and his Toronto reader Gilbert Benoit, here is the explanation of the chances that Isner and Mahut could have drawn each other in the first round at SW 19.

Each Grand Slam tournament draw includes 128 players. The top 32 players are seeded and placed in the draw first. That leaves 96 slots for the others, in this case including Isner (No. 46) and Mahut (No. 99).

Let’s consider Isner and Mahut and ignore the other players in the field.

• Pick either player. Say Isner. If he is drawn against a seed, he will not play Mahut. There are 96 possible slots where he can be drawn, and 32 of those will be against a seeded player, so he has a 2/3 chance of not playing a seed.

• Then, consider the conditional probability of Mahut drawing Isner, assuming that Isner is not playing a seed. There are 95 slots left, so the probability is 1/95

• We obtain the probability by multiplying the conditional probability (1/95) by the probability that governs the condition (2/3), and we obtain 2/285.

That is less than a 1% chance of the event happening (0.7% to be precise)