Bopanna and Qureshi in Kingfisher Open doubles final

Rohan Bopanna has a shot at doing India proud with a doubles title at the Kingfisher Airlines Open, along with a chance to erase last year's losing finalist tag.

Pairing up with Pakistan's Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi, Bopanna defeated Lars Burgsmuller of Germany and Olivier Rochus of Belgium 6-2, 6-3 in the semifinals in Mumbai on Saturday.

For the Indo-Pak pair, this is their first ATP tournament together. But they have plenty of experience in title rounds -- having won four Challenger titles on the trot in July and August.

Bopanna, 27, had also made the final at Mumbai last year with Mustafa Ghouse only to lose to doubles specialist Mahesh Bhupathi and Croatia's Mario Ancic.

This time around, Bopanna and Qureshi are up against the third-seeded pair of Sweden's Robert Lindstedt and Finland's Jarkko Nieminen.

For the record, Lindstedt and Nieminen have a 17-20 win-loss record going into the final, their first on the ATP tour.

Both pairs have had the advantage of a walkover win in this tournament - Lindstedt/Nieminen in the opening round and Bopanna/Qureshi in the quarterfinals.

Will Bopanna and Qureshi win the doubles title?
	Yes - They are playing the best tennis of their career
	No - Luck favoured them so far, not any more
	Can't say - all depends on how they play the final
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Mumbai misses Indians at Kingfisher Open

It took four rain-hit days to complete first round matches at the Kingfisher Airlines Tennis Open but when the roll call was taken, no Indians were left in the singles draw.

There's not going to be any consolation from doubles either. Mahesh Bhupathi, who claimed the inaugural title in 2006 with Mario Ancic, pulled out before his opening round doubles match with what appears to be a bad back.

Wildcard Rohan Bopanna, at 244 the highest ranked Indian in singles, was our best hope and he almost made it. But it was Frenchman Nicolas Devilder who prevailed 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (11-9) after saving three matchpoints.

NCAA champion Somdev Dev Varman, the other Indian wildcard in the draw, actually led 5-4 in the second set against Italian Fabio Fognini but had to settle for a 3-6, 6-7(8-10) loss at the $416,000 ATP event.

In a battle of qualifiers, Navdeep Singh couldn't find anything to break Toshihide Matsui's rhythm and lost 4-6, 6-7(6-8) to the Japanese player.

And lucky loser Purav Raja couldn't make much of a second chance, falling 4-6, 1-6 to Spain's Ivan Navarro.

Raja and Vivek Shokeen are playing doubles too, but as last-minute replacements for Bhupathi and France's Fabrice Santoro and no miracles are expected from them.

Last year's surprise finalists Bopanna and Ghouse also survive in the doubles event though with different partners - Bopanna with Pakistan's Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi and Ghouse with Karan Rastogi.

But the question on everybody's minds is the whereabouts of Leander Paes. The doubles specialist skipped the Mumbai event apparently because of his tiff with Bhupathi. But he and Britain's Jamie Murray are also missing in action at the ATP Bangkok event, where they were supposed to be playing this week.

Update: Ghouse and Rastogi lost to the British pair of James Auckland and Ross Hutchins 2-6, 6-3, 3-10 in a first round match on Centre Court that lasted an hour and 14 minutes.

Update 2: Bopanna and Qureshi have advanced to the doubles semifinals thanks to a walkover over Ivan Navarro of Spain and Sergio Roitman of Argentina. Roitman withdrew with an elbow injury in the quarterfinals.

Raja and Shokeen, the only other Indian pair still in the fray, lost their first round match in straight sets 3-6, 2-6 to the Serbian duo of Boris Pashanski and Victor Troicki.

Will Bopanna and Qureshi win the doubles title?
	Yes - Bopanna was a finalist at ATP Mumbai last year
	No - Luck favoured them so far, not any more
	Can't say - all depends on who they play next
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No Sunfeast for India at WTA Kolkata

The Indian campaign at Kolkata's Sunfeast Open has come to an end with Sunitha Rao losing in the doubles semi-finals.

Rao and her Australian partner Monique Adamczak went down fighting 4-6, 7-5, 5-10 to Alberta Brianti of Italy and Mariya Koryttseva of Ukraine.

The 1 hour 38 minute match at the Netaji Indoor stadium went the distance but it was Brianti and Koryttseva who eventually prevailed in the tiebreak.

The $175,000 hardcourt tournament has been severely affected by the last minute withdrawal of India's highest-ranked tennis player Sania Mirza. Mirza, who is nursing a wrist injury, had won the doubles event last year in partnership with Liezel Huber.

Rao and Adamczak have assured themselves of at least $2140 in prize money by reaching the semifinals. In addition, Rao gets $2105 and 20 WTA points for reaching the second round of the singles competition.

In the first round, the duo defeated Indian American Neha Uberoi and Poland's Marta Domachowska 6-1, 6-4. They later had the benefit of a walkover over fourth seeded Italians Sara Errani and Flavia Pennetta after Errani backed out complaining of lower back pain.

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Black day for Sunitha Rao at Sunfeast Open

Dressed all in black, Britain's Anne Keothavong spelt doom for Indian hopes at the Sunfeast Open - defeating Sunitha Rao in straight sets 6-3, 6-2.

The second round match was a lot closer than the scoreline suggests and Rao, India's highest-ranked tennis player after Sania Mirza, played her best against the 144-ranked Keothavong.

Rao, 211 on the WTA list, managed to break the Briton's serve twice. She even had a better first-serve percentage and less doublefaults. But it was Keothavong who prevailed in the 80-minute battle at Kolkata's Netaji Indoor stadium.

Keothavong sent down 7 aces compared to zero for Rao and was the stronger player on crucial points. A string of unforced errors didn't help Rao much - she mishit at least two easy lobs during the match.

The result catapulted Keothavong into the record books as the first British woman to advance to a WTA Tour quarterfinal in 14 years.

But there is still hope for India in the doubles competition of the $175,000 hardcourt tournament.

Rao and Australia's Monique Adamczak have assured themselves of at least $2140 in prize money after securing a semifinal berth.

In the first round, the duo defeated Indian American Neha Uberoi and Poland's Marta Domachowska 6-1, 6-4 and later had the benefit of a walkover over fourth seeded Italians Sara Errani and Flavia Pennetta. Errani had withdrawn after complaining of lower back pain.

Top seeds Vania King of the US and Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia put paid to the only other Indian hope by beating Tara Iyer and Canada's Aleksandra Wozniak 6-1, 5-7, 10-4 in the doubles quarter-finals.

Tara Iyer crashes out of Sunfeast Open

Wildcard Tara Iyer crashed out of the 2007 Sunfeast Open with a 6-3, 6-1 loss to seventh seed Italy's Flavia Pennetta while Sunitha Rao and her Australian partner entered the doubles semifinals thanks to a walkover.

Iyer, ranked 354 on the WTA list, was broken five times in an hour-long match though to her credit she also broke the 69-ranked Pennetta's serve once in the first set.

Pennetta, 25, had been ranked as high as 16 in the world early last year. And the 19-year-old Iyer did give the Italian some anxious moments in the first set.

Iyer's first round defeat means that Sunitha Rao is now the only Indian left in the singles draw of the $175,000 hardcourt tournament at Kolkata's Netaji Indoor stadium.

The Florida-based Rao, ranked 211 in the world, was scheduled to play 144-ranked Briton Anne Keothavong in the second round.

In the doubles event, Rao and Australia's Monique Adamczak assured themselves of at least $2140 in prize money after securing a semifinal berth.

In the first round, the duo defeated Indian American Neha Uberoi and Poland's Marta Domachowska 6-1, 6-4 and later had the benefit of a walkover over fourth seeded Italians Sara Errani and Flavia Pennetta. Errani had withdrawn after complaining of lower back pain.

But Ankita Bhambri and Rushmi Chakravarthi were humbled 6-1, 6-1 by the top-seeded duo of American Vania King and Russia's Alla Kudryavtseva. The quarterfinal opponents for King and Kudryavtseva will be Tara Iyer and Canada's Aleksandra Wozniak who had advanced earlier.

Kyra Shroff and Ashvarya Shrivastava also crashed out in the opening round, going down 6-1, 6-1 to Italy's Alberta Brianti and Ukraine's Maria Koryttseva.

Sunitha Rao advances at Sunfeast Open

Sunitha Rao kept the Indian flag flying high at the Sunfeast Open, carving out a hard-fought 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 win over lucky loser Indonesia's Sandy Gumulya.

The Florida-based Rao, ranked 211 in the world, had a disastrous first set against the 316-ranked Gumulya but recovered to win the next two at Kolkata's Netaji Indoor stadium.

The battle of 21-year-olds saw Rao emerging triumphant in her first match win since making it to the third round of the US Open qualifiers in August.

Next up for Rao is a toughie against Britain's Anne Keothavong, who's ranked 144 in the world. The two have never played each other before but Keothavong will be on a high having dispatched 71-ranked Italian Sara Errani 6-4, 6-4 in her opening match.

The $175,000 hardcourt tournament is missing star attraction Sania Mirza after the world no. 27 withdrew at the last minute with a wrist injury.

The Tier III WTA event has one other Indian woman still in the running in the singles with wildcard Tara Iyer taking on seventh seed Italy's Flavia Pennetta (rank 69) in her opening match later today.

In the doubles, Iyer in partnership with Canada's Aleksandra Wozniak defeated the Russian pair of Julia Efremova and Ekaterina Ivanova 6-4, 7-5 in the first round.

There was no such luck for the Indian pair of Sanaa Bhambri and Isha Lakhani. The duo fell tamely 6-2, 6-0 to the fourth seeded Italians Errani and Flavia Pennetta.

No Sania for Sunfeast, Sunitha best hope

The Sunfeast Open in Kolkata has been hit hard by the withdrawal of Sania Mirza. The 20-year-old Indian was laid low by a wrist injury and will not be playing for a while. Mirza's ranking of 27, her career best, may also take a beating in the coming weeks.

As for the Tier III WTA event, Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli (rank 12), Slovakian beauty Daniela Hantuchova (rank 11) and Russia's Maria Kirilenko (rank 35) will be the top draws for a tournament won by the likes of Anastasia Myskina and Martina Hingis in previous years.

The Indian campaign will be led by Sunitha Rao (rank 211) who had been due to face Mirza in the first round. Rao will now battle lucky loser Sandy Gumulya of Indonesia.

The 21-year-old Rao was bundled out in the third round of the US Open qualifiers and has also lost her only match since - a qualifier at Bali. But Gumulya (rank 316) should not pose much of a problem for her.

In first round action at the Netaji Indoor Stadium on Monday, qualifier Neha Uberoi was routed 6-2, 6-2 by Kirilenko. Uberoi, playing for the US, could not display the form she showed beating Rushmi Chakravarthi in straight sets on Sunday.

Against Kirilenko, Uberoi was done in by five doublefaults in a match which lasted for just over an hour. The world no. 267 broke Kirilenko once in the second set but the Russian retaliated with three breaks of serve for a total of five in the match.

In another match, Indian wildcard Kyla Shroff was blanked 6-0, 6-0 by eighth seed Yung-Jan Chan of Chinese Taipei (rank 81). The 14-year-old Shroff may well be India's future but it will certainly take a lot more exposure in international tournaments.

Wildcard Tara Iyer, the only other Indian apart from Rao still in the fray, takes on seventh seed Italy's Flavia Pennetta (rank 69) in her opening match.

Siblings Ankita and Sanaa Bhambri, Isha Lakhani, Shivika Burman and Ashvarya Shrivastava had all fallen by the wayside in the qualifying rounds of the $175,000 hardcourt tournament.

Sania Mirza will not be seen in action even in the doubles event which she had won with Liezel Huber as the top seeds last year. This year, none of the three Indian pairs in the event are seeded. In addition, Sunitha Rao and Tara Iyer are pairing up with foreign players.

Another blow for Karan Rastogi

Top-seeded Karan Rastogi has crashed out of the Spain F34 Futures 2007 hardcourt tournament with a 6-4, 6-4 loss to an unheralded Spaniard in the second round.

Rastogi, ranked 347 in the world, fell to qualifier Juan Luis Rascon, who at 36, is one of the oldest players still active on the men's tour.

The 986-ranked Rascon had reached his highest ATP singles ranking of 144 in May 1996, when the Indian player was not even 10 years old.

The loss was another blow to the 20-year-old Rastogi, who has failed to make it past the first round of four tournaments since claiming the Morocco F5 Futures claycourt tournament in July.

This week in Mostoles (Spain), Rastogi broke the jinx with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over 611-ranked Frenchman Xavier Audouy in the opening round but couldn't maintain the rhythm against Rascon.

How India fared at the US Open

It was so near, yet so far. Doubles ace Leander Paes might have been hoping to get his hands on a US Open trophy for the second year running. So what if he and Martin Damm, the defending champions, crashed out in the opening round of the men's doubles.

Partnering Meghann Shaughnessy, Paes raised Indian hopes by storming into the mixed doubles final. But it was not to be. The Belarussian pair of Victoria Azarenka and Max Mirnyi proved too good, carving out a 6-4, 7-6 victory after saving four straight setpoints in the second set tiebreaker.

Azarenka and Mirnyi had also accounted for Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi in the quarter-finals, rolling out a 6-4, 6-1 win.

Bhupathi and Serbia's Nenad Zimonjic didn't fare well in the men's doubles either, losing to a pair of home-crowd favourites in the second round.

Mirza's singles campaign may have ended with a loss to eventual semi-finalist Anna Chakvetadze in the third round but she sparkled in the women's doubles -- reaching the quarter-finals with Bethanie Mattek. A hard-fought win over second seeds Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur would have done enough to boost her confidence as a doubles player.

India's campaign in the junior events faltered at the first hurdle - with Poojashree Venkatesh losing both in the singles and doubles. And 15-year-old Yuki Bhambri may have to wait some years before becoming India's next tennis great - he failed to make it to the main draw of the boy's singles.

Sania scripts thrilling doubles upset at US Open

Sania Mirza and her American partner Bethanie Mattek pulled off an upset win over second seeds Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur to reach the quarter-finals of the women's doubles event at the US Open.

The number 16 seeds stared defeat in the face before battling past their US-Aussie opponents 2-6, 7-5, 7-5 in a little more than two hours.

Amazingly, Mirza and Mattek won a total of 105 points in the match, three less than their opponents. They also had a lower first service percentage and more unforced errors. But they won the crucial points and that's what mattered in the end.

Mirza had also partnered Mattek to win the Cincinnati doubles title in July.

Leander Paes and his American partner Meghann Shaughnessy followed Mirza and Mattek onto the Grandstand court and eased past home crowd favourites Justin Gimelstob and Ashley Harkleroad 6-3 6-4 in an hour and 15 minutes to reach the mixed doubles semifinals.

Indian fans hoping for a hat-trick of wins were disappointed when Mirza returned to the same court with Mahesh Bhupathi. Perhaps Mirza was tired but the Belarussian pair of Victoria Azarenka and Max Mirnyi truly deserved their 6-4, 6-1 victory in exactly one hour, which saw them advance to the mixed doubles semifinals.

Meanwhile, India's campaign in the junior singles came to an end in the first round when 17-year-old Poojashree Venkatesh lost to Korea's Sung-Hee Han in straight sets 6-3, 6-2.

Venkatesh is partnering Alexa Guarachi of the US in the girls' doubles event.

Earlier, promising youngster Yuki Bhambri missed out on a main draw berth in the boys' singles event. Bhambri, seeded 12 in qualifying, fell 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 to unseeded Bradley Klahn of the US in the final round. The 15-year-old Indian prodigy had beaten Chase Buchanan 6-4, 6-2 in his first match.

Sania Mirza loses to Anna Chakvetadze

Russian star Anna Chakvetadze dashed several Indian hearts at the US Open by thrashing good friend Sania Mirza 6-2, 6-3 in less than an hour, aided by a slew of errors from the 20-year-old Hyderabadi.

The third round match never quite reached the expectations of vociferous Indian supporters watching from the sidelines on Court 11, witness to their only hope succumb tamely to the Russian's powerplay.

Chakvetadze had begun well, clinically taking her first service game, before the Indian even had time to settle down in the court, a far cry from the Grandstand and Louis Armstrong stadium of her first two matches. Mirza was dressed in red-and-white, the same ensemble she had worn earlier this week. Was it going to be third time lucky?

Apparently not.

Serving in the second game, Mirza let loose a double fault - her 13th of the tournament. A couple of unforced errors later, Chakvetadze was up a break and serving at 2-0.

A double fault of her own put pressure on the Russian, who was soon 0-30 down in the third game. Mirza, desperate to get back into the game, tried her best but couldn't match Chakvetadze, who whipped some great crosscourt shots to hold her serve.

Now down 0-3, Mirza seemed determined to fight and she won four points on the trot, ending the game with an on-the-line crosscourt shot. Holding her serve seemed to boost her confidence and as Chakvetadze began the fifth game with consecutive double faults, it seemed the Indian was about to get back into the match.

Mirza, cheered on by her Indian supporters, found herself having a rare breakpoint but an unforced error on the next point erased the advantage. The first deuce of the match was followed quickly by two points that went Chakvetadze's way.

The Russian had taken a 4-1 lead in just 13 minutes.

Though struggling with her serve in the sixth game, Mirza found her rhythm again - winning the game when Chakvetadze came to the net and the Indian sent the ball sailing past her just short of the baseline.

Serving at 4-2, Chakvetadze let loose an ace and then let Mirza help her out. The Russian prolonged the rallies waiting and watching till the Indian made a mistake. On gamepoint, Mirza sent a backhand wide.

The Indian, looking more and more dejected as the match progressed, now served to stay in the set. A doublefault, Mirza's second of the match, didn't help matters. The Russian struck a winner next, her eighth of the match, before Mirza committed yet another double fault - setting up three setpoints for Chakvetadze.

Mirza's body language suggested that she was going to lose the set but unforced errors had erased two of Chakvetadze's breakpoints. Could the Indian possibly hold her serve?

But it wasn't to be.

A shot sent long by Mirza gave Chakvetadze the game, the Russian taking the set 6-2 in convincing fashion - in just 24 minutes.

THE SECOND SET

Mirza looked tired. Was doubles taking a toll on her? She's still surviving in the women's and mixed doubles and has been playing non-stop for five days. Whatever the reason, Chakvetadze's power play wasn't helping Mirza.

A couple of Mirza shots ended up in the net, helping Chakvetadze wrap up her first service game of the second set.

Down 0-1 it seemed the story of the first set was being repeated. The Russian didn't fail with her groundstrokes even as Mirza served yet another double fault. The break, the third time Chakvetadze had broken Mirza in the match, seemed to spell doom for the Indian.

The Russian was serving well. Leading 2-0, the world number 6 seemed to have got into the groove as she quickly went 40-0 up. Mirza's returns ended too long or too short, allowing Chakvetadze to put away winners at will.

Now serving at 0-3, Mirza tried adopting the Russian's strategy. Working the court well and coming to the net, she won the game with a down-the-line shot.

But two unforced errors by Mirza set the tone for the fifth game, helping Chakvetadze hold serve to lead 4-1.

Mirza's morale sapped. The first Indian to be seeded at the US Open was being decimated by her friend. Will they even talk in the dressing rooms later today?

Serving in the sixth game, Mirza was soon 0-40 down, handing the Russian three breakpoints to lead 5-1. A top 10 player could have saved the situation but not Mirza. She reacted with a doublefault, her fifth of the match.

The end looked near as Chakvetadze served for the match - and promptly served consecutive doublefaults. Could Mirza take advantage of the lapse in concentration? More errors by the Russian set up two breakpoints for Mirza, and she capitalised on the second.

With Mirza 2-5 down and serving to stay in the match, the two 20-year-olds engaged in a battle of crosscourt shots. An error by Mirza set up matchpoint for Chakvetadze. But the Russian squandered it with an unforced error. The second deuce of the match was soon followed by Mirza taking advantage of a Chakvetadze error, and for the first time winning consecutive games.

The Russian was looking vulnerable now and the Indians in the crowd imagined there could be a turnaround for their young star. But Chakvetadze was in no mood to gift Mirza a chance to come back.

Serving at 5-3, Chakvetadze whipped out an ace. Then a Mirza return found its way into the net. The Russian answered with an ace, her third of the match. 40-0 up and with three more matchpoints, the blonde from Moscow could afford to relax. But she didn't and took the match on the next point, blazing a winner metres away from Mirza.

It was Mirza's fourth straight loss to Chakvetadze.

The 6-2, 6-3 scoreline was the story of the match - too much power for the Russian and too many unforced errors for Mirza. The one-sided match, except for the hiccup in the second set, had been won in just 53 minutes. Leaving Mirza's fourth round showing at the 2005 US Open a record to be broken at some other Grand Slam.

Chakvetadze finished with 19 winners compared to Mirza's nine. Unforced errors (18) and a low first service percentage (48) had led to the Indian's downfall. Mirza had won just one of three breakpoints, serving five double faults and zero aces.

The only silver lining - she had won all six of her points at the net. Good doubles tactic perhaps? Mirza won't be leaving New York for now - she still has her doubles matches to look forward to - but the 2007 US Open has more or less ended for the world number 27.

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Paes out but Indians going strong in doubles

Did Sania Mirza play her best at the US Open?
	Yes, she was beaten by a superior player
	Yes, today was just not her day
	No, she wasted too many opportunities
	No, she didn't deserve to be in the third round
	No, but she'll do better next year
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The Sania Mirza-Anna Chakvetadze background

A win over buddy Anna Chakvetadze will catapult Sania Mirza into the fourth round - matching her best showing at the US Open two years ago.

But it won't be easy beating the world number six. Chakvetadze sizzled during the American hardcourt season and thrashed the Indian on her way to the Cincinnati and Stanford titles. Head to head, the record stands 3-0 in the Russian's favour.

Mirza's wins over less talented players in the first two rounds were strewn with unforced errors - something Chakvetadze will be all too eager to take advantage of.

Plus with an exceptional serve, superior groundstrokes and a reliable backhand, the Russian has what it takes to counter Mirza's one strength - the forehand.

UPDATE: CHAKVETADZE BEATS MIRZA 6-2, 6-3

Chakvetadze has always done well at New York, having reached the fourth round last year and the third round in 2004 and 2005. This year, her best on the tour so far, the 20-year-old blonde from Moscow will be hoping to make it all the way to the final four.

Does Mirza, the first Indian woman to be seeded at a Grand Slam, have what it takes to beat her former junior doubles partner? Or should fans hope for a miracle.

Here's tennis expert Matt Cronin's prediction for today's match -

"Mirza cannot afford to play long points with Chakvetadze, who is excellent at pulling her out of position and either forcing an error or smoking a winner. She has to go straight at the Russian's body with her hammer forehand in order to get Chakvetadze to stand still once in while, because the Russian is deadly on the run. Most importantly, she has to serve very well, because while Mirza has improved her movement, backhand and on court composure, her serve is still a weakness. If she zones on her forehand, Mirza could pull an upset here, but the intelligent Chakvetadze will find a way around her and triumph in three sets."

Well, if Indian hopes are dashed in singles, there might be some hope in the doubles events.

DOUBLE DELIGHT IN DOUBLES

Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi trounced seventh seeds Elena Likhovtseva and Daniel Nestor in straight sets 6-0, 6-2 to advance to the second round of the mixed doubles. Next up for the Indian duo are American Bob Bryan and France's Tatiana Golovin.

Also fighting for a place in the quarterfinals are Leander Paes and American Meghann Shaughnessy. They are up against fifth seeded Czech duo Martin Damm (Paes' regular men's doubles partner) and Kveta Peschke.

In the women's doubles, Mirza and American Bethanie Mattek, seeded 16, have reached the third round after rushing past Jarmila Gajdosova and Bryanne Stewart 6-2, 6-2.

And in the men's doubles, sixth seeds Mahesh Bhupathi and his Serbian partner Nenad Zimonjic wll have the tough task of facing home crowd favourites Sam Querrey and Robert Kendrick for a place in the third round.