Isha Lakhani enters Top 300, Sunitha Rao wins at Zagreb

May 5 - May 11: Isha Lakhani wins Kerala Open, Sunitha Rao picks up doubles title at Zagreb, Paes' doubles partnership with Hanley on a break

ISHA LAKHANI

Isha Lakhani entered the Top 300 in the WTA rankings this week thanks to her runner-spot in the $25,000 Balikpapan (Indonesia) event two weeks ago and looks set to rise further after winning the Kerala Open title on Saturday. A Top 200 spot by the end of 2008 no longer seems a distant dream.

"Hitting the top 200 is achievable, it's tough but I have got to get tougher," the 23-year-old told the Indian Tennis Blog. "My temperament has improved a lot which has helped me perform, but there's always room for improvement."

$10,000 BSNL KERALA OPEN 2008, Thiruvananthapuram
(5 - 11 May 2008)
CLAY COURT
Women's Singles Final
(WC)(1)Isha Lakhani beat (6)Miki Miyamura(JPN) 6-7(2),6-2,6-4

A lack of financial backing may hinder her plan of participating in higher-level tournaments but for now Lakhani is looking forward to playing $25,000 events in Turkey and China next month.

SUNITHA RAO

The Florida-based Sunitha Rao jumped 17 places to a career-high 110 in the women's doubles rankings this week after partnering Melinda Czink of Hungary to win the title at the $75,000 tournament in Zagreb.

The second seeds did not lose a set all week.

$75,000 ZAGREB, Croatia
(5 - 11 May 2008)
CLAY COURT
Women's Doubles Final
(2)Sunitha Rao/Melinda Czink(HUN) beat (1)Stephanie Foretz(FRA)/Jelena Kostanic Tosic(CRO) 6-4,6-2

MAHESH BHUPATHI and LEANDER PAES

The ATP Masters at Rome didn't prove lucky for Indians with both Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes crashing out in their opening encounters. Despite the loss, Bhupathi returned to the ATP Top 10 this week -- moving one spot up from 11 while Paes slipped one place to number 25.

Bhupathi and partner Knowles have slipped to number 3 in the ATP Doubles Race with the Bryan brothers claiming the top spot after winning at Rome.

And Paes seems to be on a break from regular partner Paul Hanley after a string of inexplicable first round losses this season. The Kolkatan has teamed up with Spaniard Tommy Robredo for the Hamburg Masters while Hanley tries his luck partnering Wesley Moodie.

ATP ROME MASTERS
(5 - 11 May 2008)
CLAY COURT
Men's Doubles Round 2
(4)Mahesh Bhupathi/Mark Knowles(BAH) lost to Fernando Verdasco(SPN)/Feliciano Lopez(SPN) 7-6(4),4-6,7-10
(8)Leander Paes/Paul Hanley(AUS) lost to Mariusz Fyrstenberg(POL)/Marcin Matkowski(POL) 6-4,3-6,6-10

MEN'S TENNIS

All eyes are on the $50,000 SAIL Open challenger in New Delhi this week. Rohan Bopanna has withdrawn with a bad knee while wildcard Yuki Bhambri lost his opening match. But Prakash Amritraj, Harsh Mankad, Ashutosh Singh and Mustafa Ghouse are still in the fray.

Navdeep Singh, Rohan Gajjar and Purav Raja couldn't work wonders at the Great Britain Futures at Bournemouth and Edinburgh. The trio will be trying their luck in the doubles draw in New Delhi.

WOMEN'S TENNIS

The Bhambri sisters - Ankita and Sanaa - lead a contingent of Indians at a $10,000 event in Bangkok this week.

Youngster Shalini Sahoo's semifinal spot at the $10,000 Kochi event two weeks ago saw her enter the Top 1000 in the WTA rankings on Monday. The 18-year-old is ranked 944, a climb of 120 spots since last week.

JUNIOR TENNIS

Disappointing result for India with our girls finishing eighth in the Asia-Oceania Junior Fed Cup girls under-16 tennis tournament in Bangkok.

ATP RANKINGS (12 May 2008)
(in brackets - positions lost/gained since last week)
SINGLES
249 (-3) Amritraj, Prakash
306 (-3) Bopanna, Rohan
428 (-8) Sipaeya, Sunil Kumar
443 (0) Rastogi, Karan
605 (-3) Singh, Ashutosh

DOUBLES
10 (+1) Bhupathi, Mahesh
25 (-1) Paes, Leander
51 (0) Bopanna, Rohan

WTA RANKINGS
(12 May 2008)
(in brackets - positions lost/gained since last week)
SINGLES
33 (0) Mirza, Sania
158 (-1) Rao, Sunitha
295 (+50) Lakhani, Isha
379 (+2) Iyer, Tara
499 (+19) Chakravarthi, Rushmi

DOUBLES
19 (0) Mirza, Sania
110 (+17) Rao, Sunitha
318 (-2) Iyer, Tara

Titles for Karan Rastogi, Rushmi Chakravarthi

April 28 - May 4: Karan Rastogi wins Gimcheon(Korea) doubles title, Rushmi Chakravarthi picks up twin titles in Kochi, Isha Lakhani falters in Balikpapan(Indonesia) final, Mahesh Bhupathi retires hurt in Munich

Karan Rastogi added yet another doubles title to his trophy collection with a win in Gimcheon (Korea) partnering Alexey Kedryuk. The fourth seeds lost just one set on their way to victory in the $15,000 hardcourt event.

For Rastogi, the win came two weeks after he paired with Ashutosh Singh to bag the doubles title at a $15,000 event in Taizhou (China).

Although he lost his second round singles match at Gimcheon, the Mumbai lad reached the semifinals at Taizhou and said he hopes to carry the same form in the coming weeks.

"My confidence level is pretty high right now although I would have preferred the same results in singles. But I am playing well and even the doubles titles are welcome," the 21-year-old told the Indian Tennis Blog.

Rastogi has pulled out of this week's Changwon event in Korea and will reach New Delhi earlier in order to prepare for the twin challengers in the Indian capital starting next week. Prakash Amritraj and Rohan Bopanna, both struggling for consistency in singles, will also be seen in action in Delhi.

RUSHMI CHAKRAVARTHI

At 30, most players are at the fag end of their tennis career but not Rushmi Chakravarthi. The top-seeded Tamilian dropped a set in her opening singles match at the $10,000 event in Kochi but breezed through the rest of the claycourt tournament.

Ranked 518 in the world, Chakravarthi also picked up the doubles title partnering 17-year-old Poojashree Venkatesha.

Chakravarthi, who has won more singles and doubles matches than any other Indian woman, will be hoping to extend her winning streak at the $10,000 event in Thiruvananthapuram this week.

ISHA LAKHANI

Isha Lakhani was one match away from being the third Indian to pick up a title this week but Thai youngster Noppawan Lertcheewakarn was in no mood to humour the second-seeded Indian.

Lakhani, who turned 23 last week, lost 3-6,2-6 in the final of the $25,000 Balikpapan event in Indonesia. But the world number 345 will be the favourite to grab the title as the top seed in Thiruvananthapuram this week.

MAHESH BHUPATHI

For those expecting yet another tournament win for doubles specialist Mahesh Bhupathi, news of his groin strain was disconcerting. Bhupathi picked up the injury during the Monte Carlo Masters final where he and Mark Knowles lost to Rafael Nadal and Tommy Robredo in straight sets.

But Bhupathi, who crossed the 500 milestone in doubles victories at Monte Carlo, didn't use the injury as an excuse for the loss.

"Nadal played great, he was the difference in the match. They were already up a set before I got hurt so it would have been a tough task," Bhupathi told the Indian Tennis Blog.

The injury also forced Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna to retire from their opening round encounter at last week's BMW Open in Munich, despite leading 6-2, 0-1. Bhupathi returns to action at the Italian Open in Rome this week where he and Knowles are the fourth seeds.

MEN'S TENNIS

Leander Paes and Australia's Paul Hanley, who have suffered a string of inexplicable first round losses this season, are seeded eighth at Rome.

The trio of Navdeep Singh, Rohan Gajjar and Purav Raja couldn't work wonders at the Great Britain Futures at Bournemouth and will try their luck at Edinburgh this week.

WOMEN'S TENNIS

With Sania Mirza still out of action thanks to wrist surgery, the spotlight will be on India's number two Sunitha Rao who is playing a $75,000 claycourt event in Zagreb, Croatia this week.

JUNIOR TENNIS

But there's great news on the junior front. Yuki Bhambri and Saurabh Singh led India to an impressive victory in the final of the Asia-Oceania Junior Davis Cup under-16 tennis tournament held in New Delhi. The win helped India qualify for September's Junior Davis Cup finals in San Luis Potosi, Mexico.

ATP RANKINGS (5 May 2008)
(in brackets - positions lost/gained since last week)
SINGLES
246 (+2) Amritraj, Prakash
303 (+3) Bopanna, Rohan
420 (+2) Sipaeya, Sunil Kumar
443 (+13) Rastogi, Karan
602 (+8) Singh, Ashutosh

DOUBLES
11 (0) Bhupathi, Mahesh
24 (-2) Paes, Leander
51 (0) Bopanna, Rohan

WTA RANKINGS (5 May 2008)
(in brackets - positions lost/gained since last week)
SINGLES
33 (-1) Mirza, Sania
157 (-1) Rao, Sunitha
345 (-10) Lakhani, Isha
381 (-5) Iyer, Tara
512 (-5) Bhambri, Ankita

DOUBLES
19 (0) Mirza, Sania
127 (-4) Rao, Sunitha
316 (-2) Iyer, Tara

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.

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Ashutosh wins title, no such luck for Sunitha Rao

Newly crowned DSCL Open National Champion Ashutosh Singh and runner-up Prajnesh Gunneswaran have been granted wildcards for the main draw of Challenger tournaments to be held in Delhi from next month.

Second seed Singh had beaten the 17-year-old Gunneswaran 6-4, 7-6(4) in the Nationals final in New Delhi on Friday.

Gunneswaran didn't go home empty-handed though. The giant-killer beat Vijayant Malik 6-3, 6-2 in the boys singles final.

In the women's event, title favourite Isha Lakhani swept past second seed Rushmi Chakravarthi 6-4, 6-1 to win her third straight Nationals.

DSCL OPEN NATIONALS - FINALS

MEN

(2) Ashutosh Singh beat Prajnesh Gunneswaran 6-4,7-6(4)

WOMEN

(1) Isha Lakhani beat (2) Rushmi Chakravarthi 6-3,6-1

UNDER 18 BOYS

(2) Prajnesh Gunneswaran beat (1) Vijayant Malik 6-3,6-2

Meanwhile, there was bad news in store for fans of Sunitha Rao. The Florida-based player was ousted in the second round of the USTA Tennis Classic at Troy, Alabama by her 296-ranked nemesis Alexa Glatch.

The 18-year-old American carved out a hardfought 7-6(4),7-6(3) victory over seventh-seeded Rao. It was Glatch's third straight win over Rao, having also beaten her in 2004 and in the final of the $25,000 Southlake, Texas tournament in July this year.

In the doubles quarterfinals, Rao and her Australian partner Christina Wheeler(AUS) lost 6-4,6-7(4),8-10 to the American pair of Angela Haynes and Mashona Washington.

Yuki Bhambri hits dead end at DSCL Nationals

Teenager Yuki Bhambri's giant killing run at the DSCL Open National Tennis Championship came to an end in the semifinals on Thursday - he hit a dead end named Ashutosh Singh.

Singh, seeded second in New Delhi, ousted the prodigy in straight sets 6-2, 6-3. Bhambri could show none of the promise he displayed while dispatching fourth seed Vivek Shokeen and sixth seed Tushar Liberhan in previous rounds.

The focus now shifts to another teenager Prajnesh Gunneswaran, who at 17 is two years elder to Yuki. The unseeded Gunneswaran prevailed in a hard-fought 6-3,4-6,6-4 victory over eighth seed Navdeep Singh in the other semifinal.

Gunneswaran kept himself in contention for a double crown by also reaching the boys' singles final, while Kelsey Sundaram was crowned the girls singles champion.

In the women's singles, the top two seeds will fight it out in the final - romping home in straight sets in the semifinals. Yuki's sibling Sanaa Bhambri was crushed by Isha Lakhani while Rushmi Chakravarthi accounted for Sonal Phadke.

Lakhani and Chakravarthi also teamed up to win the doubles title, beating - surprise, surprise - Bhambri and Phadke.

DSCL OPEN NATIONALS - SEMIFINALS

MEN

Prajnesh Gunneswaran beat (8) Navdeep Singh 6-3, 4-6,6-4
(2) Ashutosh Singh beat Yuki Bhambri 6-2,6-3

WOMEN

(1) Isha Lakhani beat (3) Sanaa Bhambri 6-2,6-2
(2) Rushmi Chakravarthi beat (4) Sonal Phadke 6-4,6-1

UNDER 18 BOYS

(1) Vijayant Malik beat (6) Ronak Manuja 6-0,6-3
(2) Prajnesh Gunneswaran beat (3) Abhijeet Tiwari 6-3,6-2

UNDER 18 GIRLS FINAL

(9) Kelsey Sundaram beat (8) Tanvi Shah 6-4,3-6,6-3

MEN'S DOUBLES FINAL

(3) Vinod Sridhar/Vishnu Vardhan beat (1) Vivek Shokeen/Ashutosh Singh 6-4,3-6,11-9

WOMEN'S DOUBLES FINAL

(1) Isha Lakhani/Rushmi Chakravarthi beat (3) Sanaa Bhambri/Sonal Phadke 7-5,6-1