Pune, 12th December 2023: The first day of season 5 of the Tennis Premier League (TPL) powered by Clear culminated with a round of blockbuster matches. The matches commenced after a grand opening ceremony at the magnificent Balewadi Stadium in Pune, which featured a charcoal-colored court for the first time in India.
 
The round of fixtures began with the Bengal Wizards taking on the Hyderabad Strikers for the first match of the fifth season of the Tennis Premier League. The match began with the Women’s Singles Category. Maria Timofeeva from Bengal Wizards took on Ellen Perez of Hyderabad Strikers, which ended in a 10-all draw. The match was followed by the Men’s Singles Category which was played between Sriram Balaji of the Bengal Wizards and Niki Poonacha of Hyderabad Strikers, in which Sriram Balaji came out on top with a score of 16-4. The next category was that of the Mixed Doubles in which Maria Timofeeva and Anirudh Chandrasekar of the Bengal Wizards took on Ellen Perez and Saketh Myneni of the Hyderabad Strikers in a match that ended 5-15 in favour of the Hyderabad Strikers. The last category was the Men’s Doubles Category which saw Sriram Balaji and Anirudh Chandrasekar of the Bengal Wizards go head-to-head against Saketh Myneni and Niki Poonacha of Hyderabad Strikers. The match ended 15-5 in favour of the Bengal Wizards. The match ended 46-34 in favour of the Bengal Wizards, who had secured a stunning victory over last year’s champions the Hyderabad Strikers in their first-ever match in the TPL. Sriram Balaji of the Bengal Wizards was awarded the Player of the Match award for his stunning display in the clash.
 
The second fixture saw the home team Pune Jaguars take on Delhi Binny’s Brigade. The match began with the Women’s Singles Category. Diana Marcinkevica of the Pune Jaguars took on Sahaja Yamalapalli of Delhi Binny’s Brigade, which ended 12-8 in favour of Diana. The game was followed by the Men’s Singles Category played between Lukas Rosol of the Pune Jaguars and Dennis Novak of Delhi Binny’s Brigade, in which Novak emerged victorious as the tie ended 7-13 in his favour. The next category was that of the Mixed Doubles in which Diana Marcinkevica and Rithvik Bollipalli of the Pune Jaguars took on Sahaja Yamalapalli and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan of the Delhi Binny’s Brigade in a match that ended in a 10-all draw. The last category was the Men’s Doubles which saw Rithvik Bollipalli and Lukas Rosol of the Pune Jaguars go up against Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Dennis Novak of Delhi Binny’s Brigade. The match ended 9-11 in favour of the Delhi Binny’s Brigade. The Delhi Binny’s Brigade edged out the Pune Jaguars, as the match ended 38-42 in their favour. Diana Marcinkevica of the Pune Jaguars was awarded the player of the match for the fixture.
 
The penultimate fixture of the day saw Punjab Patriots take on Bengaluru SG Mavericks. The match began with the Women’s Singles Category. Conny Perrin of the Punjab Patriots took on Arina Rodionova from Bengaluru SG Mavericks, which ended 13-7 in favour of the Swiss player. The tie was followed by the Men’s Singles Category, played between Digvijay Pratap Singh of the Punjab Patriots and Ramkumar Ramanathan of the Bengaluru SG Mavericks. Ramkumar Ramanathan emerged victorious with a score of 9-11. The next game was that of the Mixed Doubles Category in which Conny Perrin and Arjun Khade of the Punjab Patriots took on Arina Rodionova and Vishnu Vardhan from Bengaluru SG Mavericks. The game ended 12-8 in favour of the Punjab Patriots. The last clash was the Men’s Doubles category which witnessed Digvijay Pratap Singh and Arjun Khade of the Punjab Patriots go up against Ramkumar Ramanathan and Vishnu Vardhan from Bengaluru SG Mavericks. The match ended 7-13 in favour of Bengaluru SG Mavericks. The Punjab Patriots secured the victory as the match ended 41-39 in their favour. The Punjab Patriots’ Conny Perrin was awarded the Player of the Match.
 
The final fixture of Day 1 saw the Mumbai Leon Army take on the Gujarat Panthers. The fixture began with the Women’s Single Category. Sowjanya Bavisetti of the Mumbai Leon Army took charge against Karman Kaur Thandi of the Gujarat Panthers, the match ended 6-14 in favour of the Gujarat franchise. Ernest Gulbis of the Mumbai Leon Army took on Sumit Nagal of the Gujarat Panthers in the Men’s Singles category which ended 8-12 in favour of Nagal. The match was followed by the Mixed Doubles category in which Sowjanya Bavisetti and Vijay Sundar Prashanth of the Mumbai Leon Army were edged past by Karman Kaur Thandi and Mukund Sashikumar of the Gujarat Panthers after the clash ended 9-11. In the Men’s Double Ernest Gulbis and Vijay Sundar Prashanth of the Mumbai Leon Army played out an intense clash with Sumit Nagal and Mukund Sashikumar of the Gujarat Panthers that ended 11-9 in favour of the Mumbai Leon Army. The Gujarat Panthers came out on top at the end of the match as the scores read 46-34 in their favour. Karman Kaur Thandi of the Gujarat Panthers was adjudged to be the best player of the match.
 
At the end of Day 1 of the Tennis Premier League season 5, The Bengal Wizards sat atop the leaderboard with 46 points, they were closely followed by the Gujarat Panthers who had also amassed 46 points at the end of Day 1.  Delhi Binny’s Brigade was third with 42 points, while Punjab Patriots were fourth with 41 points. The Bengaluru SG Mavericks occupied the fifth spot on the table with 39 points. The home team, Pune Jaguars were sixth at the end of Day 1 with 38 points. The Mumbai Leon Army and Hyderabad Strikers occupied the seventh and eighth spots on the table respectively after both teams amassed 34 points on Day 1.
 
Tennis Premier League Season 5 will be telecast LIVE on Sony Ten 2 SD and HD from December 12-17, 2023 starting from 4 pm IST. 

New Delhi, 8^th December 2023: On the opening day of the fifth season of the Harven Pro Tennis League (PTL), Lucknow Aviators, last year’s runners-up Paramount Proec Tigers, Ichiban Samurai and Indraprastha Warriors registered wins at the RK Khanna Stadium in New Delhi on Thursday.

In the day’s early ties, Lucknow Aviators convincingly beat DMG Delhi Crusaders 88-72 while Paramount Proec Tigers staged a comeback to defeat Sankara Stag Babolat Yoddhas 83-77. Meanwhile, in the evening set of ties, Indraprastha Warriors comfortably beat Mumbai Acers 88-72 while Inchiban Samurai were far too good for defending champions Gurgaon Sapphires (83-77).

The set of results put Indraprastha Warriors and Ichiban Samurai in top-two places from Group A. While Lucknow Aviators and Paramount Proec Tigers held the top two spots in Group B. The top-two teams will qualify for the semi-final on Sunday with the teams ranked based on points won.

With matches featuring women’s, men’s pros; men’s and women’s Next Gen players and Masters in singles and doubles formats, it promised to be a close affair and it delivered. Played on parallel courts at the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association (DLTA), the fifth edition of the PTL witnessed matches going close from the very first ties in the city’s afternoon. Paramount Proec Tigers were neck-and-neck, on 30-30, after three matches before conceding a four-point deficit following the fifth match where Arjun Kadhe thumped Vishnu Vardhan 18-12. It gave Sankara Stag Babolat Yoddhas a 57-53 lead.

In the doubles matches that followed, Sravya Shivani & Divya Ungrish beat Sowjanya Bavisetti & Sahira Singh (13-7) to turn things around before Vishnu Vardhan & Parikshit Somani ensured the win when they held the upper hand over Arjun Kadhe & Vansh Bisht (17-13).

If this was a close contest, the tie between DMG Delhi Crusaders and Lucknow Aviators was a blowout. Jennifer Luikham and Kashish Bhatia played out a nervy 10-10 draw in the 20-point tiebreak format in the first match. But in the subsequent matches, Lucknow Aviators’ Shivank Bhatnagar and Diva Bhatia gave the team a sizeable 16-point lead when they trounced Sarthak Suden and Somya Arya respectively.

Karan Singh did give the DMG Delhi Crusaders reason to celebrate briefly with a 17-13 win over Anirudh Chandrasekar but the damage was already done. In a format where every point matters, this defeat may come back to haunt DMG Delhi Crusaders and their quest to qualify for the semi-finals.

The evening ties followed the theme of the day with one remaining close while the other was a one-sided affair. Indraprastha Warriors registered 14-6 and 18-12 wins in the Women’s Pro & Master’s Pro Doubles matches followed by men’s singles matches. It gave them a 14 point lead which the team maintained until the end.

Ichiban Samurai, meanwhile, were coasting along at one stage with a 12 point lead (61-49) over the Gurgaon Sapphires. They were helped in their cause by thumping – 14-6 and 13-7 – wins to get the tie underway. Sharmada Balu & Ruma Gaikaiwari did stage a comeback by beating Sahja Yamalapalli & Gauri Mangaonkar 15-5 and cut down the gap to just two points (64-66).

But in the decisive matchup featuring Nitin Kumar Sinha & Rushil Khosla vs Rithvik Choudhary & Maan Kesharwani, the Ichiban Samurai pairing won 17-13 to seal the tie in their favour.

Complete Harven Pro Tennis League schedule:

Thursday 7th December 2023
2:00 PM – Centre Court – Delhi DMG Crusaders Vs Lucknow Aviators
2:00 PM – Court 1 – Sankara Stag Babolat Yoddhas Vs Paramount Proec Tigers
6:00 PM – Centre Court – Mumbai Acers Vs Indraprasth Warriors
6:00 PM – Court 1 – Gurgaon Sapphires Vs Ichiban Samurai

Friday 8th December 2023

2:00 PM – Centre Court – Sankara Stag Babolat Yoddhas Vs Lucknow Aviators
2:00 PM – Court 1 – Ichiban Samurai Vs Indraprasth Warriors
6:00 PM – Centre Court – Paramount Proec Tigers Vs DMG Delhi Crusaders
6:00 PM – Court 1 – Gurgaon Sapphires Vs Mumbai Acers

Saturday 9th December 2023

2:00 PM – Centre Court – Ichiban Samurai Vs Mumbai Acers
2:00 PM – Court 1 – Lucknow Aviators Vs Paramount Proec Tigers
6:00 PM – Centre Court – Gurgaon Sapphires Vs Indraprasth Warriors
6:00 PM – Court 1 – Delhi DMG Crusaders Vs Sankara Stag Babolat Yoddhas

Sunday 10 December 2023

12:00 PM – Centre Court – Semi-final 1

03:00 PM – Centre Court – Semi-final

06:00 PM – Centre Court – Final

PTL Season 5 matches can be watched Live on following Youtube link:

Kalaburagi, Dec 1: Ramkumar Ramanathan was the lone Indian left in the last four men’s singles line-up at the Ultratech Cement ITF Kalaburagi Open. In the quarterfinals played at the Chandrashekhar Patil Stadium in Kalaburagi here on Friday, the fifth seed quelled the challenge of giant killer Manish Sureshkumar 7-5, 6-0 to make it to the semifinals.

In the other quarterfinal matches of the day, Aryan Shah went down fighting to Ryotaro Taguchi of Japan 3-6, 2-6 while sixth seed Rishab Agarwal succumbed to second seed Matsuda Ryuki of Japan 0-6, 4-6. In a one-sided affair seventh seed David Pichler of Austria saw the back of Japanese Seita Watanabe with a 6-0, 6-0 win in the last quarterfinal tie.

A little later Matsuda and Taguchi advanced to the finals in the doubles after defeating the Indian pair of Rishab Agarwal and Bharath Nishok Kumaran 7-6 (4), 6-2. In the final they will clash with the Austrian-Indian pair of David Pichler and Nitin Kumar Sinha who brushed past the duo of Adil Kalyanpur and Sidharth Rawat 6-3, 6-2

Ramkumar who has recently won two ITF 25K titles in as many months, found an able opponent in his Chennai citymate, at least as far as the first set was concerned. Both the players held their respective serves until the seventh game till Manish broke Ramakumar’s serve to nose ahead 5-3. In a sudden change of form, Manish committed three unforced errors which gave his senior counterpart a chance to not only come back in the match but strike his true form. Ramkumar since then won 10 games in a row, including six in the second set to overpower Manish. The striking feature about Ramkuamar’s game was his big serve and a strong forehand which further dented Manish’s feeble chances of a comeback.

Aryan Shah showed much promise when he matched shot for shot against his Japanese rival. After he lost serve in the 4^th game, Aryan broke his opponent’s serve in the very next game. However, he was broken back in the sixth game, and capitalising on the errors committed by Aryan, Taguchi won the first set 6-3. Continuing in the same form the Japanese earned an early break in the very first game and one more in the seventh game before serving out for the match.

Results (all Indians unless mentioned, seeding in parenthesis)

Men’s Singles (Quarterfinals)

7-David Pichler (AUT) bt Seita Watanabe (JPN) 6-0, 6-0; 5-Ramkumar Ramanathan bt Manish Sureshkumar 7-5,6-0; Ryotaro Taguchi (JPN) bt Q-Aryan Shah 6-3, 6-2; 2-Matsuda Ryuki (JPN) bt 6-Rishab Agarwal 6-0, 6-4.

Semifinal line-up:

5-Ramkumar Ramanathan Vs. Ryotaro Taguchi (JPN); 7-David Pichler (AUT) Vs. 2-Matsuda Ryuki (JPN)  

Doubles (Semifinals)

Ryuki Matsuda (JPN)/Ryotaro Taguchi (JPN) bt Rishab Agarwal/Bharath Nishok Kumaran 7-6 (4), 6-2; 2-David Pichler (AUT)/ Nitin Kumar Sinha bt Adil Kalyanpur/Sidharth Rawat 6-3, 6-2.

Kalaburagi, Nov 30: Aryan Shah, the country’s top junior, who had made it to the main draw after two tough qualifying rounds, had impressed during his first-round encounter against Adil Kalyanpur. Today at the Chandrashekhar Patil Stadium in Kalaburagi, he went even better scripting an upset victory over fourth seeded Sidharth Rawat. The 18-year-old, after being on the brink of defeat twice in the match, won a hard-fought battle 4-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3) to enter the quarterfinals of the Ultratech Cement ITF Kalaburagi Open here on Thursday.

Apart from Aryan, three other Indians including the man in form and fifth seed Ramkumar Ramanathan, sixth seed Rishab Agarwal, and giant killer Manish Sureshkumar also made it to the last eighth stage. Second seed Matsuda Ryuki of Japan along with his countrymates Ryotaro Taguchi and Seita Watanabe and seventh seed David Pichler of Austria were the other quarterfinalists.

Considering the prowess of both the players, the Aryan-Sidharth match was expected to be an exciting affair. Both began by breaking each other’s service. The younger opponent took time to settle and committed a few unforced errors and lost serve in the fifth game which cost him the first set.

The second set too began on a similar note but this time the fourth seed was quick to grab an opportunity and went 3-1 up with another break in the third game. Serving for the match at 5-4 and two match points up,  Sidharth who is ranked over a 1000 places above Aryan, hit the ball out thrice to lose his serve which changed the momentum of the match as Aryan who had qualified for the US Open Junior Singles this year, hit some brilliant down the line winners while taking the set into the tie-breaker, where he won 7-4.

Aryan was a break-up early in the deciding set but Sidharth, the Indian Davis Cup team member not only returned the favour but also went 3-2 up to set up a similar situation and was serving for the match at 5-3. However, with three good winners from Aryan, he lost the serve as the set went to the wire with Aryan winning the tie-breaker at 3 in a match that lasted for two hours and 49 minutes.

Meanwhile, Ramkumar was made to toil by wild card entrant Kabir Hans before registering a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win. Ramkumar who is just back from an ITF M25 victory, struggled with his game in the initial part of the set as he was 0-3 down and later 2-5 down. Using his big serve and a strong forehand, the Indian David Cup team member won five games in a row to take the first set. Achieving a crucial break in the fourth game, Kabir levelled the match scores to 1-1. Ramkumar dominating the final set raced to a 5-0 lead before Kabir put in a semblance of a fightback by winning the next games but could not stop the senior player from taking the match.

Results (all Indians unless mentioned, seeding in parenthesis)

Men’s Singles (Round of 16)

7-David Pichler (AUT) bt Harrison Adams (USA) 7-6 (6), 6-3; 5-Ramkumar Ramanathan bt Kabir Hans 7-5, 3-6, 6-2; Manish Sureshkumar bt Q-Bharath Nishok Kumaran 6-1, 6-0; Seita Watanabe (JPN) bt Rishi Reddy 6-2, 6-3; 6-Rishab Agarwal bt WC-Manish Ganesh 6-1, 7-6 (1); Q-Aryan Shah bt 4-Sidharth Rawat 4-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3); 2-Matsuda Ryuki (JPN) bt Raghav Jaisinghani 6-2, 6-0; Ryotaro Taguchi (JPN) bt 8-Karan Singh 7-5, 6-1.

Doubles (Quarterfinals)

Karan Singh/Parikshit Somani Vs. 2-David Pichler (AUT)/ Nitin Kumar Sinha 4-2 (unfinished); Rishab Agarwal/Bharath Nishok Kumaran bt Sai Karteek Reddy Ganta/Kabir Hans 4-6, 6-4, 10-8; Adil Kalyanpur/Sidharth Rawat bt 3-Taisei Ichikawa (JPN)/Seita Watanabe (JPN) 6-1, 6-4; Ryuki Matsuda (JPN)/Ryotaro Taguchi (JPN)  bt WC-Aryan Shah/Ranjeet Virali-Murugesan 6-2, 3-6, 10-5.

Kalaburagi, Nov 28: It was 13^th time lucky for Karnataka’s Manish Ganesh as he picked up his first ATP points, thanks to the ongoing Ultratech Cement ITF Kalaburagi Open where he won his first round match against Yuichiro Inui to enter the pre-quarterfinals at the Chandrashekar Patil Stadium here on Tuesday.

“I am so happy to secure my first ATP points after a frustrating 12 attempts,” said Manish with a chocked voice. “I had got wildcards from KSLTA twice before but this time I was determined to go beyond. When I stepped on to the court, I felt confident and after a few games, it only grew which resulted in the victory,” said the Mysorean who brushed aside his Japanese rival 6-1, 6-2 in mere 63 minutes.

“It is a boon for us to have the ITF tournaments in our country where we can pick up easy ATP points. And being closer to our homes, it saves us a huge cost of travel and accommodation and additionally we get the support of the home crowd,” said the22-year-old who began by earning a break in the very first game. Yuichiro, who has had a career best ranking of 862 on the ATP last year could hold on to his serve once in the set i.e. in the third game. Manish’s movement on the court was the key feature in his victory and was successful in lobbing the ball on many occasions whenever Yuichiro attacked the net.

The thought of earning an ATP point distracted the young Indian Army jawan for a moment as he lost his serve in the first game of the second set but soon recovered to break his opponent’s serve in the very next game. With two more breaks in the 6^th and the 8^th game, Manish wrapped up the set and the match.

In another interesting match of the day, India’s best junior Aryan Shah impressed with his agility to pick up the dropshots played by his opponent Adil Kalyanpur and coming up with winners. The 18-year-old entered the last 16 with a 6-4, 6-3 win.

Earlier, the tournament was inaugurated with much fanfare with Peter Vijay Kumar, Tournament Director, Allam Prabhu Patil, MLA Kalaburagi South, Fouzia Taranum, Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrate Kalaburagi, Shashil Namoshi, MLC, Thimmappa Kamaknur MLC amongst others.

Results (all Indians unless mentioned, seeding in parenthesis)

Men’s Singles (Round of 32)

Q-Aryan Shah bt WC-Adil Kalyanpur 6-4, 6-3; WC-Manish Ganesh bt Yuichiro Inui (JPN) 6-1, 6-2; Raghav Jaisinghani bt Q-Shivank Bhatnagar 6-4, 6-3; Kabir Hans bt Ha Minh Duc Vu (VIE) 5-7, 6-4, 6-2; 8-Karan Singh bt Ranjeet Virali-Murugesan 6-4, 6-2; Ryotaro Taguchi (JPN) bt Yunseok Jang (KOR) 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.

Doubles (Round of 16)

2-David Pichler (AUT)/ Nitin Kumar Sinha bt Lohithaksha Bathrinath/Oges Theyjo Jaya Prakash 6-2, 6-2; WC-Aryan Shah/Ranjeet Virali-Murugesan bt Tushar Madan/Jagmeet Singh 6-3, 6-2; Karan Singh/Parikshit Somani bt WC-Manish Ganesh/Mohammed Iftikhar Sheikh 6-0, 6-4; Rishab Agarwal/Bharath Nishok Kumaran bt Yash Chaurasia/Raghav Jaisinghani 6-3, 6-4; Adil Kalyanpur/Sidharth Rawat bt Yuichiro Inui (JPN)/Yunseok Jang (KOR) 3-6, 6-4, 10-8; 3-Taisei Ichikawa (JPN)/Seita Watanabe (JPN) bt Parth Aggarwal/Rishi Reddy 6-4, 6-2.

Bengaluru, Nov 26: Shrivalli Rashmikaa Bhamidipaty graduated from being a National champion to an international champion when she annexed her maiden ITF title with the Bowring Institute ITF Women’s World Tennis Tour honours defeating Zeel Desai. In a pulsating final attended by a full house crowd at the Bowring Institute courts here on Sunday, Rashmikaa dropped a set before emerging a 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 winner.

Rashmikaa took home the winner’s cheque of US $ 3935 but more importantly pocketed 50 WTA points which could help her surge in the WTA rankings. Zeel won US $ 2107 and 30 WTA points for her bridesmaid finish.

“It is still not sunk in. Probably it will by the evening,” said the champion. “I knew Zeel is a good player and I was prepared for a 3-setter. But after having lost the second set, I thought I already had a trophy but by giving it all, I could win the trophy and that is what I did,” said Rashmikaa.

Rashmikaa took advantage of an error-prone Zeel to achieve an early break in the second game itself which set the tone for the rest of the match to follow. The 21-year-old held her serve in the third game after a series of deuces, which deterred her opponent from making any comeback. Without giving a semblance of a chance, she grabbed the set 6-0.

However, Zeel, who had comeback after staring at defeat in the semifinals yesterday, showed similar traits when she broke her opponent’s serve in the very first game. However, she was broken back in the fourth game as lead changed hands after the fifth game where Rashmikaa led 3-2. Zeel once again came back into the set winning three games on the trot to go 5-3 up before winning the set 6-4.

With the winds playing a crucial role, especially when the players were serving, especially for Zeel who found it tough to control the ball and found her herself 0-3 down. Rashmikaa using her strong forehand to good use and played some brilliant cross court shots which Zeel didn’t have any answer.

Results

Women’s singles (Final)

Shrivalli Rashmikaa Bhamidipaty bt Zeel Desai 6-0, 4-6, 6-3

Bengaluru, Nov 25:  Zeel Desai truly showed her zeal to come back from the brink of defeat after being a match point down against Rutuja Bhosale to set up an all-Indian final clash against reigning National champion Shrivalli Rashmikaa Bhamidipaty in the Bowring Institute ITF Women’s World Tennis Tour.

In contrasting semifinals played at the Bowring Institute courts here on Saturday, Zeel won a hard-fought 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory over third seeded Rutuja while Rahsmikaa stunned second seed Lanlana Tararudee of Thailand 6-2, 6-1.

The Italian-German pair of Diletta Cherubini and Antonia Schmidt came back from a set down and lifted the women’s doubles title beating the fourth seeded duo of Punnin Kovapitukted of Thailand and Anna Ureke 4-6, 7-5, 10-4. The winners took home a cheque of US$ 1437 and 50 WTA points while the runners-up pocketed US$ 719 and 30 WTA points for their effort.

Rutuja who has been battling a viral this week took to the courts against a confident Zeel. Both the players broke each other in the first two games and repeated the sequence in the 5^th and 6^th games before the Asian Games champion Rutuja won the next three games on the trot to win the first set 6-3.

The second set too began on a similar note but this time Rutuja achieved the break in the fourth game to go 3-1 up both exchanged breaks in the next two game. This is where Zeel stepped up on the gas and took advantage of a tiring Rutuja to win four games in a row with breaks in the 7^th and 9^th games.

The 27-year-old Rutuja, with her husband and coach egging her on, seemed to take control of the match with some great passing shots and racing to a 3-1 lead with a break in the 2^nd game. Serving to stay in the match at 2-5 and down 30-40, Zeel made a remarkable comeback to win the game which changed the momentum of the match. Rutuja, the leaner of the two rivals, was once again serving for the match at 5-3 but committed four double faults coupled with two unforced errors and lost her serve. Zeel pounced on the opportunity and went on win the rest of the games to wrest the set at 7-5 and the match.

In the other semifinal, which was expected to be a tough battle, Rahsmikaa with her strong forehand augmented with a powerful serve made it look easy against her Thai opponent. Rahsmikaa broke her rival’s serve in the 2^nd, 4^th and 8^th while got broken in the 3^rd game. Lanlana, who had played flawless tennis through the week crumbled against the Indian while managing to hold her serve just once in the fourth game of the second set to surrender to the lanky Rashmikaa.

Results (All Indians unless mentioned; pre-fix denotes seeding)

Women’s singles (Semifinals)

Shrivalli Rashmikaa Bhamidipaty bt 2-Lanlana Tararudee (THA) 6-2, 6-1;

Zeel Desai bt 3-Rutuja Bhosale 3-6, 6-4, 7-5

Doubles (Final)

Diletta Cherubini (ITA)/Antonia Schmidt (GER) bt 4-Punnin Kovapitukted (THA)/Anna Ureke 4-6, 7-5, 10-4

Bengaluru, Nov 24: In a boost to the women’s tennis in India, as many as three of them made it to the last four of the on-going ITF Bowring Institute ITF Women’s World Tennis Tour at the Bowring Institute courts here on Friday.

Rutuja Bhosale, seeded third and the top ranked Indian in fray Kazakhstan’s fifth seeded Zhibek Kulambayeva dropped a set but came back strongly to win 7-6 (4), 1-6, 6-1. In the semifinals, Rutuja will take on country mate Zeel Desai, who, oozing with confidence after a win over the top seed in the pre-quarterfinals, lost her way after the first set but was back on track when it mattered to quell the challenge of her stablemate Antonia Schmidt of Germany in three sets 3-6, 6-7 (2), 6-4 to enter the semifinals.

The rest of the matches too went with the form with second seeded Lanlana Tararudee of Thailand securing her last four spot with a clinical 6-1, 6-2 win over seventh seed Diletta Cherubini of Italy and set-up a semifinal clash with in-form Shrivalli Rashmikaa Bhamidipaty who took just 76 minutes to quell the challenge of Vaishnavi Adkar with a 6-1, 6-4 victory.

The 24-year-old Zeel, ranked 938 on the ITF rankings, broke her better-ranked (115) opponent’s serve in the very first game but was immediately broken back. A break in the eighth game gave the German an upperhand and the 22-year-old promptly took the first set 6-3. Zeel, who has two ITF titles under belt this year so far, put up a much better show in the second and committed fewer mistakes. Both who train under the same coach, matched shot for shot and barring on a few occasions where there were long rallies, both came up with good winners. The set was aptly decided via a tie-breaker, where Antonia found herself committing a couple of unforced errors which brought back Zeel into contention.

In the deciding set, the Ahmedabad-born Zeel raced to a 5-1 lead courtesy breaks in the 1^st and 3^rd games. Zeel who trains at the Boris Becker and Tennis University took it a bit easy, an opportunity which her rival pounced upon to win the next three games and reduces the margin to 4-5. Zeel found her mojo back at the nick of the time and wound of the game, set and match dropping just a point.

Rutuja who is battling a viral admitted that it was with her heart and strong will that she won the match. After giving it the best in the first set which she won in a tie-breaker, she suddenly lost all her energy in the second and lost 1-6 to her Kazakh rival who is also her doubles partner. Garnering all the mental strength she could she annexed the third set and match at 1.  

Results (All Indians unless mentioned; pre-fix denotes seeding)

Women’s singles (Quarterfinals)

Shrivalli Rashmikaa Bhamidipaty bt Vaishnavi Adkar 6-1, 6-4; Zeel Desai bt Antonia Schmidt (GER) 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-4; 2-Lanlana Tararudee (THA) bt 7-Diletta Cherubini (ITA) 6-1, 6-2; 3-Rutuja Bhosale bt 5-Zhibek Kulambayeva (KAZ) 7-6 (4), 1-6, 6-1.

Doubles (Semifinals)

Diletta Cherubini (ITA)/Antonia Schmidt (GER) bt 3-Shrivalli Rashmikaa Bhamidipaty/Vaidehi Chaudhari 0-6, 6-0, 10-3; 1-Rutuja Bhosale/Zhibek Kulambayeva (KAZ) Vs. 4-Punnin Kovapitukted (THA)/Anna Ureke 2-6, 0-0 (interrupted by bad light and rain).

Bengaluru, Nov 23: Zeel Desai registered the biggest upset victory of her career when she ousted the top seed Nigina Abduraimova of Uzbekistan on a cheerful day for the Indian contingent where two more of her countrymates – Shrivalli Rashmikaa Bhamidipaty and Vaishnavi Adkar, also registered contrasting victories against their fancied opponents as four seeds bit the dust in the pre-quarterfinals of the ITF Bowring Institute ITF Women’s World Tennis Tour, here on Thursday.

A confident Zeel who admitted that she was excited to play the top seed even before the match, won in straight sets 6-4, 6-4 against the Uzbek while Rahsmikaa toppled her best friend and doubles partner, fourth seeded Vaidehi Chaudhary after dropping the first set 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 in a match that lasted 2 hours and 58 minutes. Vaishnavi outplayed eight seed Punnin Kovapitukted of Thailand 6-3, 7-6 (1) to advance to the quarterfinals while sixth seeded Jenny Duerst of Switzerland suffered a straight-set loss at the hands of German Antonia Schmidt 3-6, 4-6.

The players matched stroke for stroke as the games went with the serves for the first nine games, highlighted by shorter rallies yet classy shots from both the players. After a keenly fought 10th game, the 24-year-old Zeel broke Nigina’s serve to win the first set 6-4. However, her fancied rival broke Zeel’s serve in the fifth game and held her serve in the next to lead 4-2 in the second set. Stung by the reverse, the ever-smiling pro regained her composure and won the next four games on the trot with breaks in the eighth and 10 game to seal a spot in the last eight.

Rashmikaa and Vaidehi had met in the final of the Fenesta National with the former emerging as the winner. The latter had avenged the defeat during the finals of the recently concluded National Games. The duo who opened the day’s proceedings displayed some fine tennis with Rashmikaa’s forehand and Vaidehi’s deft cross court shots being the highlight. After the first six games went with the serve, Vaidehi who is two years older than the 21-year-old Rashmikaa broke her opponent’s serve in the seventh game and took the first set 6-4.

Continuing in the same vein, Vaidehi achieved a break in the very first game while Rashmikaa returned the favour in the sixth to restore parity and finally achieving one more break in the 12th to take the match into the third set. The final set saw a see-saw battle with both players breaking each other twice before Rashmikaa wound up the match breaking the 4th seed’s serve in the 12th.

Results (All Indians unless mentioned; pre-fix denotes seeding)

Women’s singles (Round of 32)

Shrivalli Rashmikaa Bhamidipaty bt 4-Vaidehi Chaudhari 4-6, 7-5, 7-5; 3-Rutuja Bhosale bt Pranjala Yadlapalli 6-4, 6-3; 2-Lanlana Tararudee (THA) bt Suhitha Maruru 6-1, 6-1; Antonia Schmidt (GER) bt 6-Jenny Duerst (SUI) 6-3, 6-4; Vaishnavi Adkar bt 8-Punnin Kovapitukted (THA) 6-3, 7-6 (1); Zeel Desai bt 1-Nigina Abduraimova (UZB) 6-4, 6-4; 5- Zhibek Kulambayeva (KAZ) bt Q-Pooja Ingale 6-1 6-3; 5-Diletta Cherubini bt Anna Ureke 7-6 (2), 6-7 (7), 6-4.

Doubles (Quarterfinals)

1-Rutuja Bhosale/Zhibek Kulambayeva (KAZ) bt Pooja Ingale/Sandeepti Singh Rao 6-2, 6-0; 3-Shrivalli Rashmikaa Bhamidipaty/Vaidehi Chaudhari bt WC-Kashish Bhatia/Vanshita Pathania 6-0, 6-3; 2-Jenny Duerst (SUI)/Ekaterina Yashina Vs. Diletta Cherubini (ITA)/Antonia Schmidt (GER) (stopped due to rain and bad light); 4-Punnin Kovapitukted (THA)/Anna Ureke Vs. Sai Samhitha Chamarthi/Soha Sadiq (stopped due to rain and bad light)

AIAT announces the Davis Cup team for the upcoming Pakistan tie, to be played on 29th and 30th November 2019 in yet to be decided location.

Rohit Rajpal is not playing captain for the tie.

1. Rohit Rajpal – nonplaying Captain
2. Sumit Nagal
3. Ramkumar Ramanathan
4. Saket Myneni
5. Rohan Bopanna
6. Leander Paes

Reserve Players:

1. Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan
2. Sasikymar Mukund
3. Siddharth Rawat

Rohan Bopanna in partnership with Andre Sa of Brazil was beaten 6-7(4), 6-4, 10-3 by the top seeded Bryan twins, Bob and Mike of the US, in the $693,910 ATP tennis tournament on grass in Eastbourne.

 Kolkata, March 23^rd, 2017: The ‘Rendez-Vous à Roland-Garros in partnership with Longines’ returns to India for its third edition which will be played across three cities. The tournament gets underway with the first qualifier in Kolkata followed by the second in Pune. The final culmination of the tournament will take place in New Delhi. Kolkata is hosting a Roland Garros event for the first time, and the selected players from the city shall get a chance to try their luck in the finals to be hosted in Delhi on the 18^th and 19^thof April, 2017.

The tournament confirms Roland Garros’ and AITA’S collaborative effort to organize grassroots championships of international repute in India and foster the development of clay court tennis to find future stars. Kolkata’s historic Dakshin Kalikata Sansad shall witness the qualifiers under the supervision of experienced French coach Bernard Pestre who is the Deputy Technical Director of FFT and heads their “Formation and Enseignement” (Training and Education) Department. Kolkata have been instrumental in producing many young talents who have represented the nation in the junior levels. The qualifiers will give an opportunity to U 18 players to have a MasterClass under the guidance of Pestre, who has been associated with the French Tennis Federation (FFT) since 1984.

A clinic was conducted for the media with the aim of promoting clay court tennis. ‘Rendez-Vous à Roland-Garros in partnership with Longines’ has served as a perfect platform for budding tennis talents from India as they get the opportunity to compete against the best  from USA, Japan, China, Brazil and South Korea. Further, the winners of the competition will get a chance to participate in the Junior French Open as wild-card entrants.

“Over the years, India has consistently produced good talent. The ‘Rendez-Vous à Roland-Garros in partnership with Longines’ aims to propel the upcoming talent in a way which would put the country on the world map. It also gives the youngsters a great chance of learning about clay courts, and potentially going on to excel at the French Open in future,” said President of FFT Bernard Giudicelli.

“We are extremely proud to be hosting the 1^st qualifiers of the Rendez-Vous a Roland Garros in partnership with Longines, An event of such stature and global presence shall do wonders for growth of tennis in the city. It has been our aim to have a strong grass-root development program for the city kids and with initiatives like these, I think we are on the right track towards escalating the popularity of the sport in the city.” said Mr. Hironmoy Chatterjee, Secy Gen AITA & President BTA.

Unwavering support from AITA and The Bengal Tennis has successfully ensued the commencement of Rendez-vous a Roland Garros in partnership with Longines becomes an event to remember.

The city qualifiers will see top talent vying for a spot in the Masters’ event which will be played in New Delhi on 18^th and 19^th April 2017.

Kolkata, March 16, 2017: The ‘Rendez-Vous à Roland-Garros in partnership with Longines’ returns to India for its third edition which will be played across three cities. The tournament gets underway with the first qualifier in Kolkata followed by the second in Pune. The final culmination of the tournament will take place in New Delhi. The City of Joy will be hosting the first leg of the qualifiers from 20th to 25^th March 2017, followed by the 2^nd leg in Pune from 29^th March to 1^st April 2017.

The tournament confirms Roland Garros’ and AITA’S collaborative effort to organize grassroots championships of international repute in India and foster the development of clay court tennis to find future stars. Kolkata’s historic Dakshin Kalikata Sansad and Pune’s PYC Gymkhana shall witness the qualifiers under the supervision of experienced French coach Bernard Pestrewho is the Deputy Technical Director of FFT and heads their “Formation and Enseignement” (Training and Education) Department. The two cities have been instrumental in producing many young talents who have represented the nation in the junior levels. The qualifiers will give an opportunity to U 18 players to have a MasterClass under the guidance of Pestre, who has been associated with the French Tennis Federation (FFT) since 1984.

A clinic will also be conducted for the media with the aim of promoting clay court tennis. ‘Rendez-Vous à Roland-Garros in partnership with Longines’ has served as a perfect platform for budding tennis talents from India as they get the opportunity to compete against the best  from USA, Japan, China, Brazil and South Korea. Further, the winners of the competition will get a chance to participate in the Junior French Open as wild-card entrants.

“Over the years, India has consistently produced good talent. The ‘Rendez-Vous à Roland-Garros in partnership with Longines’ aims to propel the upcoming talent in a way which would put the country on the world map. It also gives the youngsters a great chance of learning about clay courts, and potentially going on to excel at the French Open in future,” said President of FFT Bernard Giudicelli.

Unwavering support from AITA, Bengal Tennis Association and The Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association has successfully ensued the commencement of Rendez-vous a Roland Garros in partnership with Longines becomes an event to remember.

The city qualifiers will see top talent vying for a spot in the Masters’ event which will be played in New Delhi on 18^th and 19^th April 2017.

National junior champion Zeel Desai lost to Ana Bianca Mihaila from Romania, after putting a  gallant fight in the finals of $10,000 Sharm El Sheikh being played in Egypt. She lost to third seed Ana by 6-3, 5-7, 4-6 in finals. 

Zeel defeated Roumanian Elena-Teodora (ROU) by 6-2, 5-7, 6-1 in Semifinals. She also won against Clothilde (FRA) in quarterfinals by 6-1, 2-6, 6-4. Zeel defeated countryman Akshara in second round by 6-1. 6-1. In first round she defeated Britt from Belgium by 6-3, 6-3.

In doubles She played along with Emelie Luisa (GER) but lost in quarterfinals

Ana Bianca Mihaila defeated three Indians to win the finals, she defeated number 1 seed Riya Bhatia by 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 in semifinals. In Quarterfinals she defeated Eetee Maheta by 7-5, 6-4.

In doubles Shewta Rana partnered with Ana and lost in finals against Belgium pair.