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 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

Junior Davis Cup: India beat Brazil 2-1

(Match report from aitatennis.com)

JUNIOR DAVIS CUP (Under 16) GROUP D
(2)INDIA beat BRAZIL 2-1
SAN LUIS POTOSI, Mexico, Sept. 25: India justified its seeding with its win over Brazil, the Indian boys creating history to reach the semifinals. India topped Group D and meets 3rd seeded USA which topped Group C.

Both Saurabh and Yuki played excellent tennis to win their matches in spite of having lost the 1st set in their matches.

In the first singles, Saurabh had 2 break points on Henrique's serve in the 5th and 9th game but could not avail the opportunities. In the 10th game, Saurabh was serving 40-15, but with a missed drop shot and a double fault Saurabh lost the first set 4-6.

In the second set, Saurabh broke Henrique in the 3rd game and again broke in the 7th game. With 2 breaks in hand Saurabh was in command to take the set 6-2.

In the 3rd set, Saurabh broke Henrique in the 3rd, 5th and 7th game to wrap the set by 6-1.

2nd singles: Yuki started with a bang by breaking the Brazilian in the 1st game but could not retain his 1st serve. Both players were playing excellent tennis, Clezar hitting very deep and solid from base line ground strokes did not allow Yuki to make any variations and he broke Yuki in the 6th game and won the 1st set by 6-3.

In the second set Yuki was confident and mixed up his game with surprise drop shots and heavy top spin on opponent's backhand and played at net and did not allow Clezar to get his rhythm and broke his serves in the 4th and 6th game to win the set by 6-1.

In the 3rd set, Clezar was depressed with his game and Yuki broke him in the 1st game, with another break in the 5th game, Yuki was in command and produced excellent strokes to win the set and match by 6-1 and this led India going to semifinals probably for the first time.

In the doubles match, India was represented by Saurabh Singh and SV Abhishek to play with Brazilians and fought very well, Indian pair was leading 5-3 in the 1st set but Saurabh could not hold his serve to take the set and the Brazilian pair recovered soon to win the set in tie breaker.

The second set was again interesting but the Indian combination was not good enough to match the consistent Brazilian pair and lost the set again in a tie-breaker.

India plays semifinals with USA which has a very balanced team with ITF ranking 112 Evan King and Denis Kudla at 138. It is going to be an interesting tie and Indian players are confident to give their best tomorrow.

RESULTS
Saurabh Singh beat Henrique Tsukamoto 4-6,6-2,6-1
Yuki Bhambri beat Guilherme Clezar 3-6,6-1,6-1
Saurabh Singh/Abhishek Sakleshpu Venkata lost to Henrique Tsukamoto/Tiago Fernandes 6-7(6),6-7(5)

Junior Davis Cup: India beat Great Britain 2-1

(Match report from aitatennis.com)

JUNIOR DAVIS CUP (Under 16) GROUP D
(2)INDIA beat (8)GREAT BRITAIN 2-1
SAN LUIS POTOSI, Mexico, Sept. 24-25: Yuki Bhambri once again played the role of a saviour as he won both his singles and doubles matches to help India beat Great Britain 2-1 in the rain-interrupted Group D league match in the Junior Davis Cup finals.

The Indian team, aiming for its first Davis Cup crown, is now one win away from booking a berth in the semifinals.

It must beat Brazil in the next league match to make the last four grade.

The Indian team of Yuki and Saurabh Singh beat Ashley Hewitt and George Morgan 6-4,7-6 to seal the tie, which was locked 1-1 after the singles matches.

The doubles match had been stopped due to heavy rains when the Indian pair was trailing 5-6 in the second set.

Yuki trounced James Marsalek 6-1, 6-0 in the second singles to bring India back in the tie after Saurabh had lost the opening singles to Ashley Hewitt 4-6,7-6(5),4-6.

RESULTS
Saurabh Singh lost to Ashley Hewitt 4-6,7-6(5),4-6
Yuki Bhambri beat James Marsalek 6-1,6-0
Yuki Bhambri/Saurabh Singh beat Ashley Hewitt/George Morgan 6-4,7-6(6)

Junior Davis Cup: India beat Mexico 2-1

(Match report from aitatennis.com)

JUNIOR DAVIS CUP (Under 16) GROUP D
(2)INDIA beat MEXICO 2-1
SAN LUIS POTOSI, Mexico, Sept. 23: In the first match, Saurabh Singh started with conviction and broke his opponent in the 2nd game, takes a lead 2-0 early.

After that he lost the momentum and nothing worked for him after that, he was not been able to hit the ball with confidence. Alexis took the advantage of his low confidence and never allowed him to equal the deficit. Which cost him the match and India was down 0-1.

In the second singles match, Yuki was broken in the first game and it seemed that he will not recover from it, but quickly the pendulum swung in India's favour as he broke back his opponent.

Yuki could not hold his serve again and went down 1-4, he was adjusting to the court conditions and produced good backhands and serves and took the set 7-5, after that it was no looking back for him and he won his match easily. Which bring back India in the race with 1-1.

Everything was depending now on the doubles match, and the supporters for India were hoping that they will win.

As expected, Indian boys dominated from the beginning and won the set 6-1, It was looking that both Yuki/Saurabh were desperate to win it and they proved it by winning eight games without a break in serve.

In the ninth game they were down 0-40, but they managed to get all the three points and managed to deuce and then won it, In the 10th game Yuki's started to serve to win for the match, but a 40-30 he missed the opportunity to finish up the things and held in deuce, but that was just the matter of time and finally he managed to win points with serving big. India won 2-1 over the Mexicans.

India will play the loser of the match between Brazil and Great Britain.

RESULTS
Saurabh Singh lost to Alexis Carlos 4-6,2-6
Yuki Bhambri beat Fernando Larrea 7-5,6-1
Yuki Bhambri/Saurabh Singh beat Alexis Carlos/Daniel Fernandez 6-1,6-4

(Official Photo by Sergio Llamera)

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

Winning Junior Davis Cup tough but you never know - Yuki Bhambri

India is now eyeing the Junior Davis Cup trophy after Yuki Bhambri and Saurabh Singh ensured the country a place in September's finals in St Luis Potosi, Mexico.

India, seeded fourth in the Asia-Oceania qualifying event in Delhi, notched up wins over Australia and Japan last week to win the regional tournament for the first time since 2004.

"Before the tournament started, I didn't really think that we would be able to qualify (for the finals), let alone beating Austalia and Japan but Saurabh did a fantastic job and put some pressure on the other teams," Bhambri told The Indian Tennis Blog.

With junior world number five Bhambri on the team and ably supported by Singh, a historic victory in Mexico isn't all that unlikely but the Delhi lad knows it's not going to be an easy task.

"I think it's going to be really tough to go all the way, there are quite a few quality teams but you never know. We have quite some time before the world group, so hopefully we will be working hard and will be able to keep up our good work," he said.

At 15, Yuki Bhambri is already touted as India's next tennis hope along with reigning NCAA champion Somdev Dev Varman. But the surprise find of the tournament was the relatively unknown Saurabh Singh.

Even Bhambri hadn't heard of him till last month.

"Although we didn't get to play a lot of matches together, I really enjoyed playing with Saurabh. In fact this was the first time I had heard of him. He really surprised us with the way he played," he said.

For now, Bhambri is busy preparing for next week's ATP Challenger tournament in New Delhi.

Grand Slam dreams for Yuki Bhambri

Teenage prodigy Yuki Bhambri, considered by many to be India's next tennis great, is eyeing a junior Grand Slam title this year.

The 15-year-old's dream run in the 2008 Australian Open Boys' Singles in January ended in the semifinals, where he lost in three sets to eventual champion Bernard Tomic of Australia.

But his exploits at Melbourne Park gave Bhambri the impetus he needed, with another semifinal showing at the Asian Junior championship last week helping him rise to number 5 in the ITF Junior rankings.

"Reaching the semifinal at the Australian Open does give me a lot of confidence going into the next three Grand Slams this season," Bhambri told the Indian Tennis Blog.

Last week, American Ryan Harrison became the third player since 1990 to win a ATP main draw match before the age of 16 and Bhambri said he would have liked to join that group. But time is running out.

"I'm not sure if I will be able to participate in an ATP tournament before my birthday in July this year as my schedule is extremely busy," he said.

Currently at a career-best ranking of 1205 in the men's singles, the Delhi lad's quarterfinal run at the Chandigarh Futures event this month surprised many. Bhambri said he hoped to dominate the Indian circuit next year although juniors would continue to be a priority till the end of 2008.

But first he has to conquer a tough opponent -- his class X Board exams.

Once his exams get over this week, Bhambri is set for some junior Davis Cup action and the Delhi Challenger before heading to Europe for claycourt events in the run-up to the French Open.

All training, no tennis for Yuki Bhambri in February

Teenage prodigy Yuki Bhambri, considered by many to be India's next tennis great, is taking a break from the Junior tour for a month of training before playing Asian circuit events in March.

The 15-year-old's dream run in the 2008 Australian Open Boys' Singles event came to an end in the semifinals, where he lost in three sets to eventual champion Bernard Tomic of Australia.

Bhambri, ranked 12 in the world after his exploits at Melbourne Park, told the Indian Tennis Blog he won't be playing any ITF Junior circuit events in February.

"I plan to train for a month and then perhaps play the Asian circuit - Thailand, Philippines - and the (Grade) B1 in Delhi in March and April," Bhambri said.

"Hopefully, I will be able to further improve my ranking then."

Currently, Bhambri is gearing up for the LTAT Junior Championships at Nonthaburi, Thailand (March 10-16) and the Mitsubishi-Lancer International Juniors Championships at Manila (March 25-30).

Meanwhile, Yuki's elder siblings Sanaa and Ankita are heading for training in Florida before trying their luck at the $25,000 ITF Clearwater tournament beginning February 18. Several Indian women players, led by Indian no. 2 Sunitha Rao, have entered the Florida event.

"...and then (we'll) probably come back and play the challengers (Delhi and Noida) and the WTA (Bangalore) in March," Sanaa told the Indian Tennis Blog.

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

Yuki Bhambri impresses at DSCL Open Nationals

Yuki Bhambri, all of 15, is creating waves at the DSCL Open National Tennis Championship at New Delhi. The prodigy, considered by many to be India's next tennis great, upset fourth seed Vivek Shokeen in the men's singles quarterfinals.

Shokeen, ranked 757 on the ATP list, could find no answer to the youngster's wily play. Bhambri had also accounted for sixth seed Tushar Liberhan the previous day.

In other matches, Navdeep Singh upset top seed Aditya Madkekar in straight sets but the result was not unexpected considering Singh's form. Navdeep reached the main draw of the Kingfisher Airlines Open at Mumbai in September, shot up 86 places on the ATP list and is now ranked 731.

Meanwhile, 17-year-old Prajnesh Gunneswaran survives in both the men's and boy's singles.

There were no surprises in store in the women's singles with the top four seeds progressing safely to the semifinals and number four Sonal Phadke finally accounting for lucky loser Rashmi Teltumbde.

DSCL OPEN NATIONALS - QUARTERFINALS

MEN

(8) Navdeep Singh beat (1) Aditya Madkekar 6-4,6-0
Prajnesh Gunneswaran beat (7) Vinod Sridhar 7-5,6-1
Yuki Bhambri beat (4) Vivek Shokeen 7-5,6-3
(2) Ashutosh Singh w/o (5) Vijay Kannan 5-3 retired

WOMEN

(1) Isha Lakhani beat Aishvarya Srivastava 6-4,6-3
(2) Rushmi Chakravarthi beat (8) Parul Goswami 6-0,7-5
(3) Sanaa Bhambri beat (6) Asha Nandakumar 6-0,6-2
(4) Sonal Phadke beat (LL) Rashmi Teltumbde 5-7,6-3,6-2

UNDER 18 BOYS

(1) Vijayant Malik beat Shantanu Rajput 6-0,6-1
(6) Ronak Manuja beat (4) Sitaram Sudanwa 4-6,6-1,6-4
(3) Abhijeet Tiwari beat (7) Christopher Marquis 6-3,7-6(2)
(2) Prajnesh Gunneswaran w/o (5) B Vikram Reddy 6-0,3-0 retired

UNDER 18 GIRLS

(6) Aishvarya Srivastava beat (1) Kyra Shroff 6-7(6),6-1,7-5
(9) Kelsey Sundaram beat Sharmada Balu 6-2,6-3
Rashmi Teltumbde beat (4) Vishaka Sheoran 7-5,6-2
(8) Tanvi Shah beat (2) Sweta Solanki 6-4,7-5

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.

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)