Tennis Briefs - Sania Mirza loses Pattaya Open final

Reuters, BANGKOK: Russian top seed Vera Zvonareva overcame a tough challenge from a battling Sania Mirza to win the Pattaya Open final 7-5 6-1 on Sunday. For more click here

Indo-Asian News Service, SAN JOSE: India's Rohan Bopanna and Jarkko Nieminen of Finland went down to Czech Radek Stepanek and German Tommy Haas in the $600,000 SAP Open final here. For more click here

Indo-Asian News Service, ROTTERDAM: India's Leander Paes and Czech Lukas Dlouhy went down to top seeds Serbian Nenad Zimonjic and Canada's Daniel Nestor 2-6, 5-7 in the World Tennis Tournament final here Sunday. For more click here

ATP RANKINGS (16 February 2009)
(in brackets - positions lost/gained since last week)
SINGLES
154 (+1) Devvarman, Somdev
198 (+1) Amritraj, Prakash
321 (+4) Bopanna, Rohan

DOUBLES
5 (0) Bhupathi, Mahesh
7 (0) Paes, Leander
78 (+7) Bopanna, Rohan

WTA RANKINGS (16 February 2009)
(in brackets - positions lost/gained since last week)
SINGLES
87 (+39) Mirza, Sania
221 (-5) Rao, Sunitha
361 (-2) Lakhani, Isha

DOUBLES
63 (+7) Mirza, Sania
213 (-3) Rao, Sunitha
306 (-5) 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

Wimbledon 2008 starts with four Indians in focus

Sania Mirza, Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna are in action at Wimbledon this week although it's tough to predict whether any of them will survive till the second week of the grasscourt Grand Slam.

Prakash Amritraj and Sunitha Rao crashed out in the second round of singles qualifying but two other Indians - Yuki Bhambri and Poojashree Venkatesh - will also be battling it out in the junior events.

Mirza, returning from a long break after wrist surgery, will be hoping to better her previous showing at Wimbledon -- reaching the second round in 2005 and 2007.

She's played two tournaments since rejoining the WTA tour and her performance hasn't been exactly impressive.

But the number 32 seed has a slightly easier draw at Wimbledon this year and her most formidable opponent should be defending champion Venus Williams in the third round.

Beating Venus on grass would seem impossible for the Indian number one but Mirza should be more than happy if she makes the elder Williams sweat it out over three sets on Centre Court.

As usual, there's no representation from India in the men's singles - although Bopanna would have been a good bet to make it through the qualifiers, had he played them. But a low ranking forced him to miss the Grand Slam this year. Last week, Bopanna replaced Amritraj as India's number one and hopefully he should be around for the U.S. Open qualifiers.

Bopanna, 28, will be making his debut at Wimbledon in the men's doubles with Pakistan's Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi.

Mahesh Bhupathi is recovering from a few injuries of his own and it remains to be seen if he and Mark Knowles, seeded fourth here, can recapture the form that saw them bag two doubles titles earlier this year.

Leander Paes, who turned 35 last week, seems to be in better form after breaking his lacklustre partnership with Australian Paul Hanley. The Kolkatan partnered Bhupathi to the Ordina Open final last week and reached the Halle final with Czech player Lukas Dlouhy in their first outing. Paes and Dlouhy are seeded ninth here.

This week, Indian tennis fans will also be keeping an eye on the USA F15 Futures in Rochester where double NCAA champion Somdev Dev Varman is playing his first professional match since leaving college.

No French luck for Indians, moving on to grass now

No luck at the 2008 French Open for India. Even Mahesh Bhupathi, the only player from the country to survive the first week, was forced to concede his mixed doubles semifinal after injuring his calf muscle.

Will this affect his chances at events in the run-up to Wimbledon?

"Hopefully not" was all that the doubles specialist told The Indian Tennis Blog.

Bhupathi, who turned 34 on Saturday, is partnering Rohan Bopanna at the Artois Championship in London this week.

Arch rival Leander Paes (that's still how the media describes the split halves of the Indian Express) continues his not-so-old partnership with Czech player Lukas Dlouhy at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle.

Playing together for the first time, the duo put up a decent show at Roland Garros, losing to eventual champions Horna and Cuevas in the pre-quarterfinals.

Even tennis prodigy Yuki Bhambri stumbled in his opening encounter of the boys' singles. Was India's next tennis hope, so impressive in his run to the semifinals of the Australian Open in January, a no-show on clay courts?

The 15-year-old didn't think so and that's what he told the Indian Tennis Blog after his early ouster.

"I'm fit and fine. I think it was just lack of match practice cause I don't feel that there is anything wrong with my game right now but unfortunately I also ran into some very good clay court players. I played before in Europe on numerous occasions and I can definitely play on clay."

This week's tennis spotlight will be on Sania Mirza when she makes her long-awaited comeback after wrist surgery at the DFS Classic in Birmingham.

Sunitha Rao made it a double delight with a superb show in the qualifying rounds and a hard-fought main draw victory to join Mirza in the second round. The Indian number one enjoyed a bye in her first match.

Away from the media glare, Prakash Amritraj and Rohan Bopanna clashed in the final qualifier round at Surbiton. Bopanna emerged the winner - a sign that perhaps he is once again ready to don the mantle of being India's best men's player, an honour he lost to Amritraj earlier this year.

Harsh Mankad had another disappointment at the Yuba City Challenger, though his 0-6,1-6 loss in the opening round was at least understandable since he was playing the second seed. Also down on his luck is Stephen Amritraj, the lesser known of the two Amritraj cousins, who has been struggling with his doubles game for some time now.

Back problems are also becoming Karan Rastogi's bane and the 21-year-old might find it a challenge just to keep fit.

"I am scheduled to play in Iran in a couple of weeks. But will go only if I am a 100% fit," Rastogi told the Indian Tennis Blog.

On the domestic front, most of the country's second-rung women players are battling it out at a $10,000 tournament in Gurgaon this week.

ATP RANKINGS (9 June 2008)
(in brackets - positions lost/gained since last week)
SINGLES
282 (-22) Amritraj, Prakash
293 (+17) Bopanna, Rohan
468 (-18) Sipaeya, Sunil Kumar
481 (-22) Rastogi, Karan
540 (-4) Singh, Ashutosh

DOUBLES
13 (-4) Bhupathi, Mahesh
23 (+1) Paes, Leander
52 (-1) Bopanna, Rohan

WTA RANKINGS (9 June 2008)
(in brackets - positions lost/gained since last week)
SINGLES
33 (-1) Mirza, Sania
160 (-5) Rao, Sunitha
310 (-4) Lakhani, Isha
441 (+5) Iyer, Tara
502 (-3) Bhambri, Ankita

DOUBLES
20 (0) Mirza, Sania
120 (-9) Rao, Sunitha
326 (-4) Iyer, Tara

Rohan Bopanna ranked career-best 51 in doubles

He may be missing from the tennis courts in April but that didn't stop Rohan Bopanna from reaching his career best ranking of 51 in doubles this week - a bit closer to Vijay Amritraj's milestone of 39. Bopanna was ranked 52 (his previous best) last week.

The 28-year-old hasn't played on the Tour since helping India beat Japan 3-2 in the Davis Cup on April 11.

Bopanna's last doubles outing was as a wildcard entry at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships in the first week of March, where he partnered Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan to reach the quarterfinals.

He is ranked 306 in singles, 58 spots behind Indian men's number one Prakash Amritraj.

This week Bopanna comes out of hibernation to partner Mahesh Bhupathi, who won his 501st doubles match at last week's Monte Carlo event, at the BMW Open in Munich.

ATP CAREER BEST RANKINGS
MEN'S DOUBLES
1 Bhupathi, Mahesh (26 Apr '99)
1 Paes, Leander (21 Jun '99)
39 Amritraj, Vijay (21 Oct '85)
51 Bopanna, Rohan (28 Apr '08)
80 Amritraj, Anand (2 Jan '84)

Rohan Bopanna learns the ABC of ATP

Well, it's back to school for Rohan Bopanna. He joined 20 other tennis players including American John Isner and Thailand's Ratiwatana siblings for a 3-day ATP workshop (March 19-21) in Orlando.

The workshop covered topics including the history of the ATP, how to control personal finances, and the importance of media and promoting the sport.

ATP University has now celebrated its 700th graduate since the program began in 1990. In fact, all Division 1 ATP player members are expected to pass through the University.

But the 28-year-old Indian now has to do more on the tennis court to salvage his singles career - he's currently ranked only 328 and lost his status as India's best male player to Prakash Amritraj.

That's more than a 100 positions below a career-high of 213 achieved in July last year.

His doubles record is sparkling though and he's back at a career-high 54 on the ATP list, thanks to a quarterfinal spot at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships earlier this month partnering Pakistan's Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi.

Harsh Mankad returns, Ashutosh Singh proves his mettle

Pakistan may be in the headlines for the wrong reasons but India's National Champion Ashutosh Singh made sure it wasn't all bad news by reaching the final of the ITF Pakistan F3 Futures in Lahore.

Singh lost a tight match 3-6,6-3,7-6(6) to top-seeded Czech Adam Vejmelka in the final but the 25-year-old Indian shouldn't be too disappointed by his performance against a player ranked 240 places above him on the ATP list.

Partnering Vivek Shokeen, Singh had earlier grabbed the doubles title beating Vejmelka and his Romanian partner Bogdan-Victor Leonte 6-1,6-4.

The 575-ranked Singh also leads the Indian contingent for a bilateral tennis series against Pakistan starting in Lahore on Tuesday.

Doubles was the key for India in women's tennis this week with both Sunitha Rao and Prerana Appineni reaching the doubles semifinals at separate ITF events. Second seeds Rao and American Jill Craybas bowed out to an American pair at ITF Pittsburgh while Appineni and American Beatrice Capra lost a thrilling super-tiebreaker in the ITF Lima (Peru) semifinals.

But the big news for India is the return of Harsh Mankad after a year-long break from the tennis court thanks to knee injuries. Currently ranked 1456, Mankad is playing the qualifiers at the ATP Challenger in Champaign, USA.

Mankad turned 28 on Saturday and the Mumbai resident knows only too well how hard it will be for him to crack the ATP Top 200. His career best singles ranking of 222 was a milestone achieved two years ago.

Also playing next week is Indian number one Rohan Bopanna. The 261-ranked Bopanna has the unenviable challenge of playing 75-ranked German Benjamin Becker in the first round of the ATP Challenger in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine.

At least doubles specialist Leander Paes has better odds despite a spate of opening round defeats recently. Fourth seeds Paes and Czech partner Martin Damm will fancy their chances at the Shanghai Masters Cup when they take on defending champions Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi on Sunday.

In women's tennis, India's number two Sunitha Rao will try her luck at the ITF $50,000 La Quinta, US tournament while Tara Iyer will lead a phalanx of fellow Indians at the $25,000 ITF Pune tournament. Both events kick off on Monday.

Can Paes and Damm win the Tennis Masters Cup?
	Yes - these defeats will make them hungry for victory
	No - they have lost their magic
	Depends on luck
pollcode.com free polls

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
pollcode.com free polls

Paes, Bopanna and Sunitha Rao impress this week

It's been a reasonably good week for Indian tennis but not for Sania Mirza. India's number one singles player floundered in the opening round of the Kremlin Cup - falling to nemesis Gisela Dulko in her third straight carrer defeat to the Argentine.

Her luck in the doubles was only marginally better. Partnering Switzerland's Patty Schnyder, Mirza was ousted by the world's best doubles pair - Cara Black and Liezel Huber - in the quarterfinals.

Be that as it may, ATP Tour veteran Justin Gimelstob had this to say about the 20-year-old in his SI.com column this week.

"Mirza has ignited a continent with her success. She is a cult figure in her native India, and can't walk down the street without a full security detail. She possesses one of the biggest forehands in the game, and is attractive and charming. She's also integral to growing the game in the Far East."

As such the flag for Indian tennis was held high by Leander Paes. Just weeks before he ends his partnership with Martin Damm, the dynamic duo reached the semifinals of the BA-CA Tennis Trophy tournament in Vienna.

Paes and Damm even had two matchpoints before the fourth seeded Polish pair of Marciusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski advanced to the final with a 2-6, 7-5, 12-10 win.

Paes would be partnering Paul Hanley of Australia in 2008 and his reasons for splitting with Damm are purely professional.

"We have different goals next year...Martin wants to cut down on his tennis, while I want to play a full year, so we decided to get new partners," Paes told The Telegraph from Vienna.

Also impressive this week was Rohan Bopanna whose semifinal appearance with Belgium's Olivier Rochus at the ATP Stockholm Open is further proof he's going to make it big in doubles. His stint as lucky loser in the singles draw had ended after he squandered a 4-1 lead to lose in straight sets to Spain's Albert Montanes in the first round. But Bopanna made good in the doubles with a win over South Africa's Jeff Coetzee and Dutchman Rogier Wassen.

It was only in the semis that second seeds Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi got the better of the Indo-Belgian pair in straight sets - 6-3, 7-5.

On the ITF circuit, Sunitha Rao has made the quarterfinals of the $50,000 San Francisco event. Her match against Indonesia's Romana Tedjakusuma wasn't over when this report was filed but there's a good chance the eighth seed will get through easily to the semis. Rao had routed Tedjakusuma in straight sets at a $25,000 tournament in Tampa, USA earlier this year.

Top seeds Rao and American Julie Ditty stumbled in their doubles opener - falling to an unseeded pair from South Africa.

Down Under in Rockhamption, eighth seed Tara Iyer made it to the second round before qualifier Robin Stephenson proved too strong for the Indian on the Australian hardcourts.

In domestic action, Bellary in Karnataka will play host to the $15,000 India F9 Futures event next week with most of India's top singles players in attendance.

Even luck deserts Bopanna at ATP Stockholm

Spain's Albert Montanes put paid to the hopes of India's Rohan Bopanna with a 7-6(5), 6-1 win in the first round of the ATP Stockholm Open.

Bopanna, who had entered the main draw as a lucky loser, squandered an impressive 4-1 lead in the first set to lose to the Spaniard in little more than an hour.

Montanes, a claycourter ranked 48th in the world, was expected to be a tough opponent so it was a surprise when the 252-ranked Bopanna broke him in the second game and the scoreboard soon read 4-1 in his favour.

But the Indian's lead in the first set was wiped out when Montanes held serve twice and broke back in the seventh game.

At four games apiece, Bopanna served an ace - his first of the match. Both players then held their serves to take the set into the tiebreak.

Bopanna took the first point there but soon fell behind 4-6. He managed to save one setpoint but lost the next. Interestingly, Bopanna had won more points (39) compared to Montanes (37).

When the set slipped from his grasp, Bopanna's confidence deflated, just as it had deserted him in his match against Peter Wessels in the qualifiers of the indoor tournament.

Montanes raced away to a 3-0 lead, breaking Bopanna's serve in a game which went to deuce. Two games later, the Indian number one was down 0-40 on his own serve and Montanes broke him again lead 5-1. The Spaniard served for the match in the following game and won on the first of two matchpoints.

In the doubles event, Bopanna survives in partnership with Belgium's Olivier Rochus. The duo had beaten Thomas Johansson of Sweden and Todd Perry of Australia 6-2,6-7(4),10-8 in a thrilling first round encounter on Sunday that lasted for an hour and 22 minutes.

Lucky loser tag gets Bopanna into Stockholm draw

Thanks to last minute withdrawals, India's Rohan Bopanna has managed to get a main draw spot at the ATP Stockholm Open despite losing in the qualifying rounds.

Bopanna and Max Mirnyi of Belarus have entered the singles draw as Lucky Losers after Tommy Robredo and Tomas Berdych pulled out of the indoor hardcourt tournament.

India's number one singles player, currently ranked 252 on the ATP list, is slated to play Spain's Albert Montanes in the first round on Monday. Bopanna would be playing the 48-ranked Montanes for the very first time on the ATP Tour.

The winner of that match will play either fourth seed Tommy Haas of Germany or Olivier Rochus of Belgium in the second round.

Earlier on Sunday, Peter Wessels of the Netherlands had beaten Bopanna 7-5, 6-2 in the second round of qualifying.

In the doubles event, Bopanna paired up with Rochus to beat Thomas Johansson of Sweden and Todd Perry of Australia 6-2,6-7(4),10-8 in a thrilling first round encounter that lasted for an hour and 22 minutes.

Bopanna fails to make the grade at ATP Stockholm

Rohan Bopanna, India's top-ranked singles player, was denied a place in the main draw of the ATP Stockholm Open by Dutchman Peter Wessels.

In the second round of qualifying on Sunday, Wessels ousted 'Bofors' Bopanna 7-5, 6-2 on Court number 1 of the indoor tournament in the Swedish capital.

Bopanna, ranked 252 in the world, had started well - blazing five aces as the two players picked up three games apiece. One breakpoint had come Bopanna's way early in the match but he failed to capitalise on it - something he was to rue later.

At five games all, Wessels seized his chance when Bopanna gifted him two breakpoints while serving at 15-40. The Indian saved the first but the Dutchman grabbed the next to break serve and lead 6-5.

The 197-ranked Wessels then held his nerve to serve out the next game and take the first set in 33 minutes.

Interestingly, at this stage Bopanna was the better player - with a higher first serve percentage (58%), more aces(7) and fewer doublefaults(1). But the crucial points had all gone to Wessels.

The loss of the first set seemed to affect Bopanna's play and Wessels broke him again in the third game of the second set. The Indian wilted under pressure and Wessels was soon 5-1 up.

Indian hopes were resurrected when Bopanna held serve in the seventh game and then went up 30-15 up on Wessel's serve. But the tall Dutchman sent down his seventh and eighth aces to clinch the set and the match in just 58 minutes.

UPDATE: Thanks to last minute withdrawals, Bopanna has managed to get a main draw spot as a lucky loser at the ATP Stockholm Open despite losing in the qualifying rounds. Click here for story.

Bopanna falters in Mumbai doubles final

For the second year in a row, Rohan Bopanna was at the losing end of the Kingfisher Airlines Open doubles final.

He and Pakistan's Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi went down fighting 6-7 (3), 6-7(5) to third seeds Robert Lindstedt of Sweden and Jarkko Nieminen of Finland in Mumbai on Sunday night.

In the end, the Scandinavian duo proved just too good in the tie-breakers.

For the Indo-Pak pair, this was their first ATP tournament together. The loss shouldn't bog them down too much - after all they 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.

While Bhupathi withdrew with a bad back this year, there was no news of India's number 1 doubles player Leander Paes.

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
pollcode.com free polls

Watch out for Sania Mirza at US Open

That's tennis writer Peter Bodo's prediction on ESPN - Sania Mirza is on his list of players likely to make a splash at the 2007 US Open.

With action starting today at Flushing Meadows, Bodo points out that "Mirza has shown signs of maturity that her game has sorely lacked, and she likes this surface."

The number 26 seed also carries the heavy burden of being India's only representative in the singles events.

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

She's in great form though and currently enjoys her highest ever career ranking - 27 (in singles) and 20 (in doubles).

Mirza begins her US Open campaign on Tuesday with a 4-2 win-loss record at the Grand Slam, already looking ahead to a possible third round clash with the in-form Russian Anna Chakvetadze.

Will Mirza repeat her dream run of 2005, when she lost in the fourth round to top seed Maria Sharapova?

Well, her doubles victory at the Pilot Pen tournament over the weekend should keep her spirits up. After all, Mirza and Italy's Mara Santangelo beat the best women's pair of 2007 - Cara Black and Liezel Huber - in straight sets 6-1, 6-2.

At the US Open, Mirza will be partnering American Bethanie Mattek in the women's doubles. The number 16 seeds face the unseeded pair of Jelena Jankovic and Severine Bremond in the first round. But their real test lies in a possible encounter with second seeds Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur in the third round. Mirza and Israel's Shahar Peer had lost to the duo at the same stage at Wimbledon.

In the mixed doubles, Mirza is partnering doubles specialist Mahesh Bhupathi, who's won the event twice before - with Ai Sugiyama in 1999 and Daniela Hantuchova in 2005.

India can also hope for good results from Bhupathi and Leander Paes in the men's doubles. Both have won it in the past though with different partners - Bhupathi with Max Mirnyi in 2002 and Paes with Martin Damm last year.

This year, Bhupathi and Serbia's Nenad Zimonjic, fresh from their victory at the Pilot Pen tournament, are seeded sixth and could run into defending champions and fourth seeds Paes and Damm in the quarter-finals.

Both Bhupathi and Paes haven't won a Grand Slam title this year and would be eager to finish the year on a high.

However, Indian fans would be disappointed that Rohan Bopanna won't be playing in the men's doubles. Bopanna, who along with Pakistan's Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi notched up four straight ATP doubles titles this season, could not qualify for a place in the doubles draw. The 27-year-old player is now ranked 87 in doubles, having jumped 40 places on the ATP list in the last two months.

Earlier this week, Bopanna and Prakash Amritraj crashed out in the qualifying rounds for the men's singles while Sunitha Rao came agonisingly close to joining Mirza in the women's singles draw.

No singles for Indian men at US Open

With both Prakash Amritraj and Rohan Bopanna bowing out in the qualifiers, India will not be represented in the men's singles main draw at US Open 2007.

Amritraj, ranked 270th in the world, lost in the first round of the qualifiers to 17-year-old Kei Nishikori of Japan. Amritraj won the first set before Nishikori, ranked just one place above him on the ATP list, rolled out a 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 win.

In all fairness, Amritraj was hampered by a torn ligament on his left wrist which restricted him to a one-handed backhand. The 23-year-old son of former tennis star Vijay Amritraj is scheduled to have surgery in Los Angeles after he returns from New York.

In 2002, just before he turned pro, Prakash made it to the main draw of the US Open before losing to Thailand's Paradorn Srichaphan in straight sets.

BOPANNA OUT TOO

India's no. 1 Rohan Bopanna did one better than Amritraj this year, reaching the second round of qualifying before losing to 19th seed Pablo Cuevas. The 21-year-old Uruguayan was made to work hard before carving out a 6-4, 6-7 (7-9), 7-5 victory.

The 223-ranked Bopanna had beaten Frenchman Julien Jeanpierre in straight sets in the first round.

SUNITHA ONE MATCH AWAY FROM MAIN DRAW

But there was hope yet for India in the women's singles qualifiers with 219th-ranked Sunitha Rao just one match away from the main draw.

Rao beat 125th-ranked Varvara Lepchenko of Uzbekistan in the second round of qualifying. A hard-fought first set went 7-5 in Sunitha's favour before she blanked Lepchenko in the second to record her second career victory over the Tashkent girl. Their head-to-head tally now stands at 2-2.

In the first round, Rao had beaten Romanian Monica Niculescu, ranked one place higher than her on the WTA list, in a three-setter 2-6, 6-2, 6-2.

The draws for the doubles events at the 2007 US Open were yet to be announced at the time of writing this post.

It's raining aces for Indian tennis

It's been a good month for Indian tennis. Sania Mirza finally displayed some of her early promise, rocketing up to number 30 on the WTA rankings following an impressive run in the American edition of the tour. Her scalps at Stanford and San Diego include known names like Dinara Safina, Shahar Peer and Patty Schnyder.

The plucky lass from Hyderabad figured in the WTA Top 10 Power list for the Acura Classic and we can be sure her fearsome forehand may pack some punch yet. Add to this her second career victory over Martina Hingis at the ongoing East West Bank Classic in Los Angeles and Mirza's surely gonna be the first Indian woman to be seeded at a Grand Slam.

The US Open, which starts on August 27, is also the Grand Slam where Mirza achieved her best showing yet - a fourth round loss to Maria Sharapova in 2005. And who knows, if her form continues, a quarter-final berth at Flushing Meadows may just be within her reach.

In the men's singles, Prakash Amritraj is also inching towards his highest ranking yet - he was 220 in 2004 and is now at 268, after impressive runs at the ATP Hall of Fame Championships and the Comerica Challenger. He's vaulted up 200 positions in the rankings in just one month. Though it remains to be seen whether Prakash will ever match the achievements of his father Vijay, being India's numero uno is still very much within his grasp.

That position currently belongs to Rohan Bopanna. The 27-year-old reached his highest ever ranking of 213 this July after winning his maiden Challenger title at Dublin. But Bopanna is more in the limelight for his doubles victories in partnership with Pakistan's Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi. In one month, the duo notched up a hat-trick of doubles titles at Segovia, Manchester and Nottingham - making Bopanna the first Indian after Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi to break into the top 100 in the ATP doubles rankings.

After Bopanna and Amritraj, the next Indian in the ATP singles list is 340th-ranked Karan Rastogi. A victory at the ITF Futures tournament in Morocco is Rastogi's claim to fame. Keep him on your radar as this 20-something resident of Mumbai may have some more wins up his sleeve.

There's more good news in store with 15-year-old Yuki Bhambri. This sibling of the Bhambri sisters won an ITF event in Cairo and is now headed for a stint at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy. Yuki has a shot at playing the U.S. Open Juniors and I feel we'll be hearing a lot about this talented youngster in the coming years.

In the women's singles, Shikha Uberoi is going through a slump. She's currently at 333 in the rankings, having reached a personal best of 122 two years ago. Apart from Mirza, the US-based Sunitha Rao is the only other Indian woman in the Top 300, coming in at 218.

(Current rankings based on August 6, 2007 ATP and WTA list)

FORUM: Should Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi get back together?

It's been ages since the 'Indian Express' broke up and India's medal prospects at the 2008 Beijing Olympics look pretty bleak if Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi don't team up.

Should the two players patch things up for a shot at Olympic gold or should Bhupathi fancy his chances with rising star Rohan Bopanna? Have your say.

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