Tennis News
Noventi Open: Indian tennis players Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan ousted after quarterfinal loss
Halle (Germany), Jun 18 India's Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan were knocked out of the Noventi Open men's doubles event after suffering a straight-set quarterfinal loss here.
The Indian pair went down 3-6 6-7 to the sixth-seeded Belgian duo of Sander Gille and Joran Vilegen, failing to advance to the semifinals of the event on Thursday.
Bopanna and Sharan, who are waiting to know if they will make the cut at the Tokyo Olympics as a team, had got the better of second seeds Lukasz Kubot and Edouard Roger Vasselin in the second round of the Euro 14,55,925 tournament that marked the beginning of the grass-court season.
While the 41-year-old Bopanna is ranked 38th, the left-handed Sharan is placed as low as 75th for a combined rank of 113th on June 14, the cut off date for rankings to be considered for entries at the Tokyo Olympics.
The Indian pair needs a lot of withdrawals from other nations to make the cut due to its low combined ranking. News source PTI
Rafael Nadal withdraws from Wimbledon and Tokyo Olympics
In the latest tennis news, Rafael Nadal has announced his withdrawal from Wimbledon and Tokyo Olympics after making the decision in consultation with his team due to an inadequate recuperation period after a physically and mentally demanding Roland Garros.
The 35 year old Spaniard announced his decision on Twitter to not participate in two of the biggest and most anticipated tennis events of the year. He said, “Hi all, I have decided not to participate at this year’s Championships at Wimbledon and the Olympic Games in Tokyo. It’s never an easy decision to make but after listening to my body and discussing it with my team I understand that it is the right decision.”
“The goal is to prolong my career and continue to do what makes me happy, that is to compete at the highest level and keep fighting for those professional and personal goals at the maximum level of competition.”
“The fact that there has only been 2 weeks between RG (Roland Garros) and Wimbledon, didn’t make it easier on my body to recuperate after the always demanding clay court season. They have been two months of great effort and the decision I take is focused on looking at the mid and long term,” said Rafa.
“Sport prevention of any kind of excess in my body is a very important factor at this stage of my career in order to try to keep fighting for the highest level of competition and titles. I want to send a special message to my fans around the world, to those in the United Kingdom and Japan in particular.The Olympic Games always meant a lot and they were always a priority as a Sports person, I found the spirit that every sports person in the world wants to live. I personally had the chance to live 3 of them and had the honor to be the flag bearer for my country,” he concluded.
The world number 3 has won 20 Grand Slams in his career so far and will have to wait a little longer to increase that tally. Last week, Novak Djokovic defeated Rafael Nadal 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-2 and stopped the Spaniard from winning his 14th French Open title.
India’s Rohan Bopanna, Divij Sharan knock out second seeds at Halle
Halle (Germany), Jun 16 India's Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan knocked out second seeds Lukasz Kubot and Edouard Roger Vasselin to move to the quarterfinals of the Noventi Open, here on Wednesday.
Bopanna and Sharan, who are waiting to know if they will make the cut at the Tokyo Games as a team, beat the Polish-French combination 7-6(11) 6-4 in the second round of the Euro 1455925 tournament that marked the beginning of the grass court season.
Bopanna (38) and Sharan (75) ended up with a combined rank of 113 on June 14, the cut off date for rankings to be considered for entries at the Tokyo Games.
The low combined rank means that the Indian pair needs a lot of withdrawals or pull outs from other nations to make the cut. News source PTI
India's chances to field men's doubles team at Tokyo Olympics to depend on entries from other nations
New Delhi, Jun 14 India will have to wait to know if a men's doubles team from the country will compete at the Tokyo Olympics since Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan's qualification, who have a low combined ranking of 113, would depend on number of entries from other nations.
The top-10 players have the privilege to select a partner of their choice as per the ITF rules but Bopanna is ranked 38 and left-handed Sharan is placed as low as 75 after the fresh rankings were issued on Monday following the conclusion of the French Open.
Bopanna's quarterfinal appearance helped him gain two places while Sharan's first round exit resulted in him losing one place. A total of 32 teams each will feature in the men's and women's doubles draw.
Both Bopanna and Sharan are unsure of their participation.
"Completely alien as it all depends which players and teams are going . Impossible to calculate like other events," Bopanna told PTI when asked about their chances.
According to International Tennis Federation (ITF) qualification system, rankings of June 14 will be considered for entries and each nation is limited to a maximum of six men and six women, with a maximum of four singles players and two doubles teams for both genders.
The ITF will announce on July 5 which players have made it to the draws and Bopanna and Sharan will get an idea by the end of June to know their fate.
If the ITF receives fewer entries due to the concerns around pandemic, Bopanna and Sharan's chances will improve.
As of now, only Sania Mirza is assured of a place in the women's doubles as she will use her protected ranking to enter the Games, She was ranked nine before she took maternity leave and has decided to compete with Ankita Raina.
There is a possibility that Ankita may enter the women's singles draw, getting one of the six Continental places.
The two finalists at the Asian Games were to be give Tokyo Olympics places but since China's singles champion Wang Qiang (38) and runner-up Zhang Shuai (36) may get direct entry courtesy their high ranks, bronze medallist Ankita could be given the Continental place. For 16-team mixed doubles event, on-site entries will be accepted on July 27.
The tennis event will start on July 24 and will culminate on August 1. News source PTI
Indian tennis player Rohan Bopanna crashes out of French Open, India's campaign ends
Paris, Jun 7 India's campaign in the French Open came to an end as Rohan Bopanna and his Croatian partner Franko Skugor lost their men's doubles quarterfinal here on Monday.
The 41-year-old Bopanna and Skugos went down 5-7 3-6 to the Spanish duo of Pablo Andujar and Pedro Martinez in a match that lasted one hour and 17 minutes.
The unseeded Indo-Croat pairing had received a walkover in the pre-quarters on Sunday against Netherlands' Matwe Middelkoop and Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador.
Last week, Divij Sharan and Ankita Raina had lost their opening round matches of men's and women's doubles events respectively In the singles events, Sumit Nagal, Ramkumar Ramanathan, Prajnesh Guneswaran and Ankita had failed to enter the main draw. New source PTI
Indian tennis player Rohan Bopanna and Croatia's Franko Skugor advance to French Open quarterfinals
Paris, Jun 6 India's Rohan Bopanna and his Croatian partner Franko Skugor advanced to the quarterfinals of the French Open after receiving a walkover from their opponents here on Sunday.
The Indo-Croat duo got a walkover in its men's doubles pre-quarterfinal clash against Netherlands' Matwe Middelkoop and Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador.
Bopanna and Skugor will now face the Spanish pairing of Pablo Andujar and Pedro Martinez in the quartefinals.
The unseeded Bopanna and Skugor had notched up a straight set win over Americans Frances Tiafo and Nicholas Monroe in the second round earlier this week.
The 41-year-old Bopanna, ranked 40 in the world, is not defending any points this year at the Roland Garros.
The Indian needs to earn points since this is his last chance to improve his ranking. The rankings on June 10 will be considered for entry into the Tokyo Olympics. New source PTI
Indian tennis player Rohan Bopanna and Croatian Franko Skugor progress to 3rd round at French Open
Paris, Jun 3 Veteran Indian tennis player Rohan Bopanna and his Croatian partner Franko Skugor advanced to the pre-quarterfinals of the French Open with a straight set win over Americans Frances Tiafo and Nicholas Monroe here on Thursday.
The unseeded Bopanna and Skugor prevailed over their rivals 6-4 7-5 in the second round match that lasted one hour and 20 minutes.
The 41-year-old Bopanna, ranked 40 in the world, is not defending any points this year at the Roland Garros.
He needs to earn points since the this is his last chance to improve his ranking. The rankings on June 10 will be considered for entry into the Tokyo Olympics.
Divij Sharan, though, lost his chance by losing his first round match.
The combined rankings of Bopanna and Sharan will be taken into account for entries. A low ranking will scuttle their chances.
As of now only Sania Mirza is assured of a place in the women's doubles draw. She will most likely pair with Ankita Raina. New source PTI
Indian tennis player Rohan Bopanna and Croatia's Franko Skugor enter second round of French Open
Paris, Jun 1 India's Rohan Bopanna and Franko Skugor of Croatia sailed into the men's doubles second round at the French Open with a straight-set win over Gerogia's Nikoloz Basilashvili and Andre Begemann of Germany here on Tuesday.
The Indo-Croat combination took just an hour and one minute to dispose off their rivals 6-4 6-2 in their tournament opener.
Bopanna and Skugor broke their opponents once in the first set and twice in the second to wrap up in style.
Bopanna and Skugor will next take on the winners of another first round match between American duo of Nicholas Monroe and Frances Tiafoe and eight seeds Marcelo Melo of Brazil and Poland's Lukasz Kubot. New source PTI
Indian tennis player Sumit Nagal also fails to make French Open main draw cut
Paris, May 27 India's top player Sumit Nagal could not make a hat-trick of Grand Slam main draw appearances following a straight-set defeat in the second round of the French Open Qualifying event here.
The Haryana youngster crashed out of the Clay Court major with a 3-6 3-6 loss to Alejandro Tabilo from Chile, last night.
In the engrossing contest that lasted one-and-a-half-hours, Nagal could break the serve of his rival, ranked 23 places below him at 146, only twice while he himself dropped his serve five times.
With the defeat of the 23-year-old from Jhajjar, India's challenge has ended in the Qualifiers.
Ramkumar Ramanathan, Prajnesh Guneswaran and Ankita Raina have already exited from the tournament.
Now India will be represented through Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan in the men's doubles main draw.
It is crucial for both of them to earn ranking points by going deep in the draw since the official rankings of June 10 will decide which players make the cut for the Tokyo Olympics.
Sania Mirza has decided not to compete in this tournament as she wanted to use her 'special ranking' to enter the Wimbledon Championships. New source PTI
Indian tennis players Ankita Raina and Ramkumar Samanathan bow out of French Open Qualifiers
Paris, May 26 Ankita Raina's yet another attempt to qualify for the singles main draw of a Grand Slam failed as she bowed out of the French Open Qualifiers with a second-round defeat, here on Wednesday.
Ankita, up against higher-ranked German Greet Minnen, could win only two games in the entire match that lasted one hour and 21 minutes.
The 125th ranked Indian could convert only one of the three break points and eventually lost 2-6 0-6.
It was Ankita's seventh attempt to crack the singles main draw of a major. She had reached the final round of the Australian Open qualifying event early this year, falling at the final stage.
Ramkumar Ramanathan also crashed out with a tame 1-6 2-6 defeat against Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin.
Sumit Nagal is now the only Indian left in fray for a main draw berth. He will take on Alejandro Tabilo in his second round. New source PTI
Indian tennis player Ankita Raina bows out of French Open Qualifiers
Paris, May 26 Ankita Raina's yet another attempt to qualify for the singles main draw of a Grand Slam failed as she bowed out of the French Open Qualifiers with a second-round defeat, here on Wednesday.
Ankita, up against higher-ranked German Greet Minnen, could win only two games in the entire match that lasted one hour and 21 minutes.
The 125th ranked Indian could convert only one of the three break points and eventually lost 2-6 0-6.
It was Ankita's seventh attempt to crack the singles main draw of a major. She had reached the final round of the Australian Open qualifying event early this year, falling at the final stage.
Later Wednesday, Ramkumar Ramanathan and Sumit Nagal will take court for their respective men's singles second round matches. New source PTI
Tennis player Ramkumar Ramanathan progresses to second round of French Open Qualifiers, Prajnesh bows out
Paris, May 25 India's Ramkumar Ramanathan advanced to the men's singles second round of the French Open Qualifiers but Prajnesh Gunneswaran crashed out following his first-round defeat, here on Tuesday.
Ramkumar erased a one-set deficit to beat American Michael Mmoh 2-6 7-6(4) 6-3 in his opening round that lasted one hour and 54 minutes.
He will next take on Uzbekistan's veteran Denis Istomin, who also recorded a three-set win against Bosnia's Damir Dzumhur.
However, left-handed Prajnesh, seeded 32nd, suffered a rather tame 2-6 2-6 loss to Germany's Oscar Otte.
India's top singles player Sumit Nagal, seeded 27th, will open his campaign against Roberto Marcora. New source PTI
Bopanna-Shapovalov go down fighting in Madrid Open quarters
Madrid, May 8 India's Rohan Bopanna and Denis Shapovalov of Canada fought hard before losing in three sets to German duo of Alexander Zverev and Tim Puetz in the men's doubles quarterfinals of the Madrid Open here.
Bopanna and Shapovalov went down 6-4 3-6 10-5 against their German opponents to crash out of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament. The Indo-Candian pair hit five aces as against their opponent's three, but they committed more double faults, which hampered their prospects.
Bopanna and Shapovalov had committed five double faults as against two by the German pair.
The Germans were also better on first serve, with a win percentage of 83 as against 79 by their opponents.
Earlier in the tournament, the unseeded pair of Bopanna and Shapovalov had stunned top seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah in straight sets.
Bopanna and the 22-year-old Canadian have been teaming up regularly on the doubles tour since 2019. News Source : PTI
Bopanna-Shapovalov reach quarterfinals of Madrid Open Masters
Madrid, May 6 India's Rohan Bopanna combined with his Canadian partner Denis Shapovalov to stun top seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah in straight sets and reach the men's doubles quarterfinals of Madrid Open Masters 1000 tournament here.
This was the 41-year-old Bopanna's first win on the ATP tour in 2021.
The Indo-Canadian duo won their round of 16 match 6-3 6-4 on Wednesday.
Bopanna and Shapovalov will take on German duo of Alexander Zverev and Tim Puetz in the quarter-finals.
"A superb victory by #TOPSAthlete tennis player @rohanbopanna and his partner @denis_shapo who beat World #1 men's doubles pair of Robert Farah and Juan Sebastian Cabal 6-3, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals of the @MutuaMadridOpen," Sports Authority of India (SAI) tweeted. News Source : PTI
Uphill task for India against Latvia in Billie Jean King Cup Play-offs
Jurmala (Latvia), Apr 15 The Indian players have an onerous task at hand to compete against higher-ranked Latvians, including 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, when they strive to clear the World Group Play-offs hurdle at the Billie Jean King Cup, here from Friday. By her own admission, Ankita Raina plays her best tennis at this event, formerly known as Fed Cup, and India would again expect her to punch above her weight when she takes on Ostapenko in the tie-opening match of the Play-offs where India are competing for the first time. Though odds are against them, what may go in favour of the Indians is that the tie will be played on indoor hard court as the Latvians surprisingly did not choose clay courts, more suited to their players, and the absence of crowd support for the hosts. Ankita (ranked 174) and Karman Kaur Thandi (ranked 621), who takes on host number one player Anastasija Sevastova (ranked 47), both said they are ready for a good fight. Ankita played against Sevastova way back in 2015 at home in Ahmedabad, losing an ITF final to her. Their journeys have been contrasting since then with Sevastova getting into top-50 with a crushing backhand. She even beat Serena Williams when Latvia played against US in 2020 Fed Cup Qualifiers. "We mostly play on hard courts, so I am ready and excited for it. I give my best when I represent my country, I am more than ready," Ankita said at a virtual press conference. Karman, who is making a comeback after an injury lay-off, said she is physically prepared for the big challenge. "Fast or slow, it does not matter, both Ankita and I prefer hard courts. It's a good opportunity for us," she said. Asked why he chose Karman over higher-ranked Rutuja Bhosale (419), captain Vishal Uppal said he has gone by his "gut feeling". "All my five players have worked hard. I felt Karman can give us some extra on day one. I have gone with my gut," he said. Sevastova said she knows Ankita well but watched a few Youtube videos of Karman to get an idea about her game. "I watched for fun," she said jokingly. "I watched to know what are her weapons or weakness. It's one thing to watch a video and different in real life. You know more when you are on court." She played on clay court recently but said switching to hard court won't be an issue. She admitted that the surface would suit the Indians more. Uppal felt the absence of crowd will work in India's favour. "We have got to this stage (Play-offs) for the first time. The good thing is, there won't be 5-7 thousand fans screaming at us but at the same time it takes the fun away. Ranking go out of window in Bille Jean King Cup." The Schedule: Friday: 1) Ankita Raina vs Jelena Ostapenko.2) Karman Kaur Thandi vs Anastasija Sevastova. Saturday: 3) Ankita Raina vs Anastasija Sevastova.4) Karman Thandi vs Jelena Ostapenko.5) Sania Mirza/Ankita Raina vs Diana Marcinkevica/Daniela Vismane. Matches to start at 3:30pm on Friday and 11:30 am on Saturday. Matches to be telecast live on Eurosport. News source: PTI