Yuki Bhambri planning to play U.S. Open juniors

For all those who thought tennis prodigy Yuki Bhambri has turned his back on the junior circuit, go eat dirt.

Bhambri told The Indian Tennis Blog he's planning to play the US Open in September.

The Australian Open boys champion and reigning world number one surprised fans by skipping Roland Garros and Wimbledon this year.

An ankle injury did trouble Bhambri just before the French Open, but three days short of his 17th birthday, India's next big tennis hope is hitting balls at a Futures event in sweltering New Delhi instead of cheering compatriots Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza at the All England Club.

There's a method to this madness. Bhambri won back-to-back Futures events in April, helping him reach a career-best men's singles ranking of 650 in June. A win at the F5 event this week would help him zoom up the senior rankings even quicker.

After all, he's hoping to break into the Top-500 by the end of the year.

But what of his ankle injury?

"I think I have fully recovered because the ankle is not bothering me at all," Bhambri told us.

After back-to-back hardcourt Futures in India, the young tennis sensation said he might be headed to Syria to play in a Futures event there.

Tennis Briefs - Sania Mirza praised for her athleticism

The Press Trust of India, NEW DELHI:Renowned fitness trainer Gil Reyes, who has worked with top stars like Ana Ivanovic and Fernando Verdasco, on Monday lauded Sania Mirza's 'athleticism' after working for one week with the Indian tennis ace. For more click here

Daily News & Analysis, NEW DELHI: The All India Tennis Association (AITA) secretary, Anil Khanna, feels the game can become the most high profile one in the country with the help of the government and sponsors. For more click here

The Times of India, BANGALORE: Focusing on hard facts instead of tradition, the Indian Davis Cup team have chosen hardcourts over the old favourite grass, for their upcoming tie against Australia. For more click here

ATP RANKINGS (9 March 2009)
(in brackets - positions lost/gained since last week)
SINGLES
150 (0) Devvarman, Somdev
192 (+1) Amritraj, Prakash
317 (+3) Bopanna, Rohan

DOUBLES
5 (+1) Paes, Leander
8 (-1) Bhupathi, Mahesh
79 (-7) Bopanna, Rohan

WTA RANKINGS (9 March 2009)
(in brackets - positions lost/gained since last week)
SINGLES
88 (+1) Mirza, Sania
224 (-5) Rao, Sunitha
363 (-1) Lakhani, Isha

DOUBLES
71 (+1) Mirza, Sania
249 (-1) Rao, Sunitha
295 (+1) Uberoi, Shikha

Maiden ATP doubles crown for Rohan Bopanna

Rohan Bopanna won his maiden ATP doubles crown on Sunday, his first from five appearances in a final, when he partnered American Eric Butorac to beat Travis Parrott and Dusan Vemic 7-6(5), 7-6(5) at the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles.

Last month, 28-year-old Bopanna and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan reached the final at Newport. His three other final round appearances were all on home soil in 2006 and 2007.

With the win, Bopanna moved up 10 places to 44 in the ATP doubles rankings, within striking distance of the career-high ranking of 43 he achieved last month.

Bopanna now heads for the $508,000 Legg Mason Classic in Washington DC where he teams up again with regular partner Qureshi.

Somdev Devvarman represents India in the singles event, after battling through three rounds of qualifying. In the final round of qualifying, Devvarman beat Japan's Go Soeda 7-5,7-5. Soeda had brought the Indian's unbeaten streak as a pro player to an end in the Vancouver Open quarterfinals last month.

(Photo: ATP website)

$475,000 COUNTRYWIDE CLASSIC, Los Angeles
(August 4 -10, 2008)
HARD COURT
Men's Singles Qualifying Round 1
Rohan Bopanna lost to (6)Woong-Sun Jun(KOR) 4-6,2-6

Men's Doubles Final
Rohan Bopanna/Eric Butorac(USA) beat Travis Parrott(US)/Dusan Vemic(SRB) 7-6(5),7-6(5)
Semifinal
beat Juan Martin Del Potro(ARG)/Fabio Fognini(ITA) 7-6(4),4-6,10-5
Quarterfinal
beat (2)Scott Lipsky(US)/David Martin(US) 6-4,6-4
Round 1
beat (WC)Johan Brunstrom(SWE)/Jean-Julien Rojer(AHO) 6-3,1-6,10-3

Sunitha Rao falls at final hurdle in San Francisco

A brilliant run in the $50,000 ITF San Francisco Tennis Classic ended with defeat in the final for India's Sunitha Rao. The eighth seed couldn't keep the magic going against top seeded American Ashley Harkleroad and went down tamely 6-1, 6-2.

The loss was a disappointing one for Rao but it was still her best result for 2007 - gaining her $3,990 in prizemoney and 25 valuable WTA points. Her latest ranking shot ten places up to 175 and Rao is now within striking distance of her career-best ranking of 152 (achieved in July 2003).

The Florida-based player had started the year ranked 232 and had dipped as low as 278 in June before jumping 100 places in just four months. Rao had also been the losing finalist in a $25,000 ITF event at Tampa in July.

The San Francisco result had not been an unexpected one. Harkleroad, although now ranked just 92, is a former Top 40 player and not one to be taken lightly. Interestingly, Rao had won their previous encounter in the 2003 Australian Open qualifiers, albeit in three sets.

Rao, who will celebrate her 22nd birthday on October 27, also had luck on her side - she didn't face anybody ranked higher than her in the four matches till the final.

In the latest WTA rankings (October 15), Rao led an army of Indian women moving up the list. Tara Iyer moved one place up to 358, Rushmi Chakravarthi gained two places to be ranked 368 and Isha Lakhani moved up three spots to 432.

But Indian number one Sania Mirza dropped one spot to 30, thanks to a first round exit at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow.

In the doubles, Mirza moved up one spot to 19, while Rao lost three places to be placed 141. The biggest loser of the week was Shikha Uberoi - who slid 43 places to 209.

Rohan Bopanna, the best Indian player in the men's singles, was down nine places (260) while Prakash Amritraj slid two spots (270). The big gainer - no. 343 Karan Rastogi who moved up four places.

In the doubles rankings, Bopanna's semifinal run at ATP Stockholm saw him jump seven places to 79 while Leander Paes(17) and Mahesh Bhupathi(21) retained their spots on the list.

Middle-level Indian players have a chance to earn valuable points at the men's $15,000 India F9 Futures event at Bellary, Karnataka which kicked off on Monday.

Can Sunitha Rao ever match Sania Mirza's achievements?
	Yes - the way she's playing, anything is possible
	No - Rao doesn't have what it takes
	Can't say - we'll have to watch her in 2008
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