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

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

Tennis Briefs - Injury forces Sania Mirza out of Fed Cup

The Press Trust of India, NEW DELHI: In a big setback to the Indian Fed Cup team, Sania Mirza will miss the upcoming Group I Asia/Oceania zone tie, citing an abdominal injury. For more click here

Indo-Asian News Service, MUMBAI: India's star tennis player Sania Mirza said on Monday that winning the Australian Open mixed doubles title with Mahesh Bhupathi was the best way she could make a comeback in the international circuit. For more click here

The Press Trust of India, NEW DELHI: India's first Australian Open boys' singles champion Yuki Bhambri returned to a warm reception at the Indira Gandhi International airport in New Delhi on Monday. For more click here

Business Line, MUMBAI: With brands turning cautious on ad spends in the wake of the economic slowdown, it is unlikely that tennis stars Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi would see a fresh line-up of endorsements, despite the duo clinching the mixed doubles finals at the Australian Open tennis tournament. For more click here

ATP RANKINGS (2 February 2009)
(in brackets - positions lost/gained since last week)
SINGLES
153 (+2) Devvarman, Somdev
205 (+4) Amritraj, Prakash
326 (-9) Bopanna, Rohan

DOUBLES
6 (0) Bhupathi, Mahesh
7 (+3) Paes, Leander
84 (-8) Bopanna, Rohan

WTA RANKINGS (2 February 2009)
(in brackets - positions lost/gained since last week)
SINGLES
127 (-19) Mirza, Sania
201 (-5) Rao, Sunitha
360 (+1) Lakhani, Isha

DOUBLES
72 (-13) Mirza, Sania
211 (+7) Rao, Sunitha
305 (+4) Uberoi, Shikha

Tennis Briefs - Bhupathi/Knowles qualify for ATP Tennis Masters Cup

The Press Trust of India, NEW DELHI: Indian ace Mahesh Bhupathi and his Bahamian partner Mark Knowles's final appearance at last week's Madrid Masters has booked the duo a berth in the season-ending prestigious Tennis Masters Cup to be held in Shanghai next month. For more, click here

The Press Trust of India, NEW DELHI: Forced to stay away from courts for almost half the season, a fit again Sania Mirza is eyeing a comeback at January's Classic tennis tournament in Hong Kong and revealed that she almost sunk into depression while struggling to recover from a wrist injury. For more, click here

The Times of India, BANGALORE: Sania Mirza is back on the tennis court, cracking forehands - pain free. Only two months ago, scenes of the big-hitting 21-year-old making a premature exit from the Olympic Games in a pool of tears were flashed from Beijing. Sania was frustrated as much by the physical pain as with the hopelessness of her situation. For more, click here

The Press Trust of India, NEW DELHI: Apollo Tyres on Tuesday reiterated that it would not show the details of its spending on the 'Mission 2018' project to anyone but refuted suggestions that the company was trying to take control of tennis in India. For more, click here

Sania Mirza to miss US Open

Sania Mirza's wrist injury has forced her to miss the 2008 US Open, the final Grand Slam of the year, which starts next week.

"I've always done well at the US Open and it is very disappointing for me to miss a Grand Slam on my favourite surface due to my wrist injury," India's top woman player said in a statement.

Mirza, 21, has struggled to come to terms with her game since undergoing wrist surgery and has been advised complete rest for an initial period of 3 weeks.

The injury also forced her to retire in her first round match at the Beijing Olympics. Mirza first injured her wrist during the Indian Wells tournament in March, necessitating a surgery in Miami the following month.

Mirza dropped out of the Top 40 in July and is currently ranked 63 in the world.

May take Sania Mirza weeks to get back killer forehand

When Sania Mirza embarks on a quest for Olympic glory in August, even the prayers of a billion Indians may not be enough to see her through.

The golden girl of Indian tennis hasn't quite regained the form that took her to number 27 in the WTA rankings in August 2007. But it's not just a question of finding her rhythm.

After wrist surgery in April this year, Sania only returned to the Tour a fortnight before Wimbledon. And her forehand, considered one of the best in the game, is no longer the formidable weapon it used to be.

That's something even Sania's father and mentor Imran Mirza admits.

"I think Sania is still not playing at the level she was at before the injury. Basically, she still does not have the awesome power and control in her forehand that made her a top 30 player," Mirza told the Indian Tennis Blog on Sunday.

The vagaries of the ranking points system have ensured that Sania stays in the Top 40(Update: She fell 15 spots to number 50 on Monday) but the truth is the 21-year-old hasn't won consecutive matches in the five events she played since her comeback.

Imran Mirza urges patience.

"I think it may take a few more weeks or even months before she gets that venom back in her forehand although it is gradually improving."

"However, her fitness level and other aspects of the game have improved considerably although these are not good enough without her world-class forehand to win consistently at the highest level."

That's certainly not good news for those hoping for a medal-winning run from Sania at the Beijing Olympics. But there's hope yet in the women's doubles event, where she partners Sunitha Rao.

Currently in Stockholm for the $145,000 Nordea Nordic Light Open, Sania will return to India for a few days before proceeding to Beijing. After the Olympics, she'll rush to the United States for the $600,000 Pilot Pen event in New Haven, a week before the U.S. Open kicks off on August 25.

But Mirza senior knows it may be some time before Sania can live up to fans' expectations and start winning more matches.

"We need to be patient with her game as of now."

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.

Sania Mirza says road to total recovery tough

Sania Mirza's loss in her comeback match at the DFS Classic at Birmingham this week suggests that India's number one tennis player may need some more time to return to top form after undergoing wrist surgery.

Marina Erakovic is no pushover. After all, she won the Surbiton event last week. But Mirza's straight-set loss to the Kiwi player was still surprising.

"There is some pain in the wrist when I play particular strokes and there are still a few movements that I find difficult," Mirza told the Indian Tennis Blog via email.

"I hope to get back soon to the level I was playing at before the injury but the road to total recovery is going to be longer than I thought."

Coming just two weeks before Wimbledon, it wasn't quite the start the 21-year-old was looking forward to on her return to the WTA Tour after three months of inactivity.

To top it all, Mirza might just miss getting seeded for the premier tennis Grand Slam after slipping to 33 in the WTA rankings.

Mirza and her American partner Bethanie Mattek also lost in their doubles opener at Birmingham.

"Even though Sania's recovery has been swift, her wrist will still need some time to adapt to and to generate high intensity power in high pressured match situations," Mirza's trainer and physiotherapist Renuka Pinto said.

"The only way this can be achieved is by allowing the wrist to be exposed to match situations in a phased manner."

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

Film on Sania Mirza? Dad didn't know

The rumour mills are abuzz about a film being made on Sania Mirza by filmmaker Deepak Gandhi. The film "I For You" reportedly casts actress Esha Deol in the role of India's best tennis player.

But Sania's dad Imran Mirza said he had no idea if such a film is indeed being made.

"We only read about it in today's newspaper. Don't know if it is true," Mirza told the Indian Tennis Blog on Thursday.

Mirza said he's busy preparing Sania for her upcoming tournaments and wasn't bothered by the rumours.

"We have other more important things on our minds, like getting ready for Wimbledon and Olympics," he said.

Sania Mirza pulls out of French Open

India's number one tennis player Sania Mirza will not be playing at next week's French Open, her father Imran Mirza said on Monday.

The 21-year-old Sania is yet to fully recover from a wrist surgery conducted in April and is now expected to make a comeback at the $200,000 DFS Classic in Birmingham next month.

"Hopefully, she will start with Birmingham on 9th June," Imran Mirza told the Indian Tennis Blog.

Last year at Roland Garros, Sania had won a match for the first time in three tries. She then lost in the second round to eventual finalist Ana Ivanovic.

Despite her inactivity in recent weeks, Sania managed to hold on to her ranking and moved one place up to 32 on Monday, thanks to world number one Justine Henin's sudden retirement from professional tennis.

"I would say she is about 80 percent recovered," Imran Mirza had told the blog about Sania's recovery on Wednesday.

"The cast came off on the 5th but there is still a little pain in the wrist and she is still not able to bend it completely forwards and backwards due to the pain."

Sania Mirza to keep date with Dubai

Despite bowing out with cramps during her Qatar Open match on Tuesday, Sania Mirza is expected to play at the Tier-II tennis tournament in Dubai next week.

The Indian no. 1 had been on her way to victory over Olga Govortsova of Belarus, but could barely keep herself from falling over while serving for the match at 5-4 in the second set.

At 2-3 in the final set, the 21-year-old Mirza fell down on the baseline and could not continue. She later withdrew from the doubles event as well.

"Thankfully, the injury is not serious. The doctors described it as cramping due to bilateral lower extremity fatigue," her father Imran Mirza told the Indian Tennis Blog.

"She should be playing in Dubai next week."

Sania had been playing her first singles match in nearly four weeks after being sidelined with an adductor muscle tear sustained during the Australian Open. During this period, her only outing on the court was in a Fed Cup doubles rubber where she helped India avoid relegation.

A letter from Sania Mirza's dad

Tennis star Sania Mirza's withdrawal from the WTA Bangalore Open raised a furore this week. Was she, as some alleged, irritated at not being paid enough appearance money? Did being caught up in controversies really affect her? Or was her decision to boycott all Indian tournaments merely a publicity stunt?

Sania's dad Imran Mirza sets the record straight in this heartfelt missive to the Indian Tennis Blog.

"Sania's bypassing the Bangalore Open has nothing to do with injury. The young girl has gone through hell for the last two months and was close to a breakdown. Indian society can be very cruel to a young, good-looking girl, who breaks all barriers in terms of achievements and is not afraid to speak her mind.

"We, in India, seem to feel threatened with a woman like that and do everything to ensure that she is brought down to earth. Just to put the record straight, even if someone offers her a million dollars today to play in India in an INDIVIDUAL TOURNAMENT like the Bangalore Open, she is NOT going to play for at least a few months and maybe more because her mental health and comfort level is more important to us than anything else in the world.

"The unprecedented and mindless furore that we have witnessed in the last few days only justifies Sania's stand in not playing in India at this point of time.

"If we had based our decisions on what people who have no clue about ground realities say, Sania would never have reached the heights where she has. She is right now recuperating (physically and mentally) and we will ensure that she gets back to her fighting best within a short span of time. If at any point she is selected for a team tournament held here to REPRESENT INDIA, she will play in India at all costs.

"She has had to pay a very heavy price for being a pioneer in her chosen profession and for being a very successful woman but God is most definitely on her side and we are confident that despite the hostilities from misguided groups and individuals and certain sections of the media, who have no clue what it takes to succeed in a truly global sport like tennis, she'll end up the winner. Inshallah!"

Sania Mirza advised three weeks' rest for adductor injury

Indian number one Sania Mirza has been advised to take three weeks off to help heal a five cm tear in her adductor (upper leg) muscle, her father Imran Mirza said.

"According to the doctor, an adductor muscle tear of 10 cm or more requires surgery but a 5 cm tear should heal on its own with rest," Mirza told the Indian Tennis Blog.

The 21-year-old Hyderabadi player, now also ranked number one in Asia, has been sidelined since last week's Australian Open mixed doubles final which she lost partnering Mahesh Bhupathi.

"She is in intense pain when she bends down on a low ball and needed six pain killers before being able to play in the final," Mirza said.

Hopes of an Indian victory in the ongoing WTA Fed Cup in Bangkok were also dashed after Sania was rendered unfit for the ties.

Mirza said Sania had been keen to play at least the doubles rubbers but it depended on whether non-playing Fed Cup captain Enrico Piperno thought it worth taking a risk of further injury for the sake of the country.

Sania Mirza gives Venus Williams a fright at Australian Open

A spirited challenge by Sania Mirza wasn't enough to prevent a 6-7, 4-6 loss to current Wimbledon champion Venus Williams in the third round of the 2008 Australian Open.

Mirza, whose previous best at Melbourne Park was a third round loss to Venus' sister Serena in 2005, gave millions of Indians hopes of an upset win as a flurry of her forehand winners sailed past the six-time Grand Slam champion.

But Venus wasn't going to let Mirza add to India's quota of impressive wins on Saturday - what with the Indian cricket team thrashing Australia in the Perth test earlier in the day.

The 21-year-old Hyderabadi had begun in promising fashion in a match delayed by several hours, breaking the American's serve at two-all in the first set.

A few minutes later, Mirza was up 5-3 as a Venus serve rocketed past her. She responded with a smile and an outstanding return of serve on the next point. At 30-30, the Indian was two points away from the set and an upset win loomed large.

But it wasn't to be.

The game went to deuce twice before Venus dug in to hold serve and Mirza found herself serving for the set.

A costly error by Mirza at 30-all set up breakpoint for the American. The eighth-seeded Venus revved up a notch, broke back and then sent down a flurry of aces to go up 6-5.

All seemed over when the Indian went down 15-40 but a bunch of winners and Venus errors saw Mirza take the match into the tiebreaker. The number 31 seed was all smiles as an ardent fan shouted "Sensational Sania" and the spectators in the Rod Laver arena settled in for a slugfest.

But the 27-year-old Venus played a flawless tiebreak (7-0) and grabbed the first set in 50 minutes.

Mirza's serve let her down and the more experienced Williams pounced on the Indian's weakness as she kept edging forward inside the baseline to face the weak second serves.

The momentum had clearly shifted in the American's favour but Mirza seemed determined to give a good fight. The opening point of the second set was the best of the match - the 19-shot rally ending in Mirza's favour.

Games went on serve till 3-3 when Williams broke Mirza in a game which saw two points challenged by either player and replayed. A costly doublefault (her fourth of the match) didn't do the Indian any good.

Mirza's unforced errors crept up - she was to make 30 of them in the 92-minute match. And Venus was serving better in the second set with more aces (5), more winners (10) and fewer unforced errors (8).

Her confidence back on track, the elder Williams was soon 5-3 up and two points from victory on the Indian's serve. But Mirza responded with an ace (her only ace of the match) to take the game.

Serving for the match at 5-4, Venus sent down two aces and wrapped up the match on the first of her three matchpoints.

Sania Mirza in trouble but Dad says mischief at work

Media reports suggest that Sania Mirza is in trouble for shooting an ad on the premises of Hyderabad's famous Mecca Masjid. The Minorities Welfare Department of Andhra Pradesh has apparently lodged a complaint seeking action against the 21-year-old player for entering the mosque without permission.

But father Imran Mirza told the Indian Tennis blog the controversy was the "creation of certain troublemakers in the media".

"The shoot was never done at Mecca Masjid. It was done with the Charminar as the backdrop of the ad," he said.

"The Mecca Masjid is bang opposite the Charminar and some mischievous journalists shot photographs of Sania from the other side to make it seem as though the shooting was inside the mosque."

India's number one tennis player is currently recovering from injury and hasn't played since October. But it seems Sania, who is expected to partner Rohan Bopanna at the Hopman Cup later this month, will now have to battle some aces off the tennis court as well.

"It's unfortunate but this is the price one has to pay for being famous," said Mirza.

Injury-hit Sania Mirza cuts short 2007 season

Sania Mirza has returned to India after a string of first round defeats at European tournaments compounded by a strained abductor muscle.

India's number one singles player pulled out of the WTA Generali Ladies Linz tournament starting next week and said she will not be playing any more in 2007.

"It has been a long and hard year for me, where I had to make repeated comebacks from two serious injuries and a surgery," Mirza was quoted as saying by The Times of India.

"I am mentally tired and my body is crying out for a break. I'm looking forward to a rest and then a great season next year."

Mirza, currently ranked 30 on the WTA list, had lost to lesser-ranked players in the opening rounds of the Kremlin Cup and the Zurich Open this month.

The 20-year-old ends the year with a 30-19 win-loss record on the WTA Tour having recently touched career best rankings in singles (27) and doubles (18).

Mirza reached the final of WTA Stanford in July and can boast of wins over the likes of Martina Hingis, Dinara Safina and Patty Schnyder in an injury-riddled season. A knee injury had kept her out of action in the first half of 2007 while a wrist injury forced Mirza to withdraw from Kolkata's Sunfeast Open in September.

Her best Grand Slam result for the year was a third round spot at the US Open in August - eventually losing to good friend and nemesis Anna Chakvetadze.

Four doubles titles came her way this season with victories at Morocco (with Vania King), Cincinnati (with Bethanie Mattek), Stanford (with Shahar Peer) and New Haven (with Mara Santangelo). Mirza ended the year with a 32-11 record in doubles.

India's performance at this year's Hopman Cup mixed team challenge had earned Mirza and Rohan Bopanna direct entry into the 2008 edition in January but it remains unclear whether Mirza can recover in time for the event in Australia.

A break will help Sania perform better in 2008
	Yes - no good can come of playing while injured
	No - she should have stuck around till the end
	Can't say
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Stephen Amritraj, Ashutosh Singh shine this week

The big names of Indian tennis couldn't weave much magic in tournaments this week, leaving little known players Stephen Amritraj and Ashutosh Singh to impress with breakthrough performances.

Amritraj, who grew up in the Californian city of Calabasas, partnered American Adam Davidson to reach the doubles semifinal at the ATP Calabasas Challenger.

The duo, who gained entry as lucky losers because of an injury default to Jan-Michael Gambill, stunned top seeds Bobby Reynolds and Rajeev Ram 6-3,6-4 in the opening round.

Amritraj, 23, and Davidson eventually lost 5-7,2-6 to fourth seeds Robert Kendrick(US) and Cecil Mamiit(PHI) in the semifinal.

Stephen, son of former tennis player Anand Amritraj, had partnered cousin Prakash to reach the semifinals of the Fergana Challenger earlier this year.

Back home in India, newly crowned National hard court champion Ashutosh Singh spearheaded the country's challenge at the India F9 Futures in Bellary, Karnataka.

Singh's splendid run in the singles event, which began with ousting top seed Pavol Cervenak of Slovakia 6-3,6-4 in the opening round, came to an end in the semifinals.

Singh, ranked 659 on the ATP list, lost to third seeded Austrian Rainer Eitzinger 4-6,3-6.

But he gained revenge by partnering Vivek Shokeen (in pic) to beat Eitzinger and Philipp Oswald 7-6(4),3-6,10-5 in the doubles final.

Wildcard Rupesh Roy, who lost in the quarterfinals to Singh, also impressed with a second round win over Romania's Adrian Gavrila.

Elsewhere in Europe, Sania Mirza lost in her Zurich Open opener before retiring for the season while Leander Paes and Martin Damm lost in the second round of the Madrid Masters doubles.

Sunitha Rao, who reached the finals at the ITF San Francisco Tennis Classic last week, withdrew from the ITF Lawrenceville Challenger at the last minute.

Down under in Gympie(Australia), Tara Iyer couldn't do much against fourth seeded home favourite Monique Adamczak and lost 1-6,6-7(5) in the first round.

Partnering Nungnudda Wannasuk of Thailand, Iyer also lost to Adamczak and Briton Jade Curtis 7-6(2),6-7(3),5-10 in the doubles quarterfinal.

Quick exit for Sania Mirza from Zurich Open

Sania Mirza capped a miserable October with a first round loss at the Zurich Open to Michaella Krajicek - her third straight career defeat to the Dutch player.

Wildcard Krajicek, ranked three places below the Indian at 33, breezed through the match 6-1, 6-4 in an hour and 16 minutes to ensure Mirza's quick exit from picturesque Switzerland.

The result was Mirza's 19th defeat as opposed to 30 wins on the WTA Tour this year and her ranking is likely to slide further.

It was also Mirza's second opening round ouster in as many weeks - having also lost to Argentine Gisela Dulko at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow last week.

Krajicek, the half-sister of 1996 Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek, had started off well - winning the opening game and then swiftly breaking Mirza's serve. Mirza broke back in a game riddled with deuces but the 18-year-old from the Netherlands quickly recovered from that setback.

Krajicek, who has struggled with her form of late, unleashed her attacking game and a stronger serve to take the next nine games.

A spirited Mirza comeback in the second set saw her break Krajicek's serve twice but the Dutch girl was in no mood to take the match into the decider. She broke Mirza's serve for the sixth time to advance to the second round.

By the end of the match, Krajicek had blazed 6 aces as opposed to zero for Mirza although the Indian had a better first serve percentage (65 as opposed to 60).

In the doubles, the wildcard pair of Sania Mirza and home crowd favourite Patty Schnyder is pitted against China's Shuai Peng and American Meilen Tu.

Update: Mirza/Schnyder lost 3-6,1-6

Mirza returns to the Tour next week at the WTA Generali Ladies Linz tournament at Linz, Austria.

Update: Mirza cuts short 2007 season

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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