Chennai: Unheralded Japanese journeyman Go Soeda pulled off the biggest win of his career by knocking out defending champion and World No. 17 Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland 6-4, 6-4 at the Chennai Open to enter his maiden ATP tour semi-finals on Friday. Soeda was all but joined by compatriot and fellow-qualifier Yuichi Sugita, who blew three match points and lost a two-hour, 44-minute marathon 6-4, 6-7 (8), 6-4 to second-seeded...
10:38 PM, Jan 06, 2012
Chennai: Serbian tennis ace Janko Tipsarevic, top seeded in the singles draw of the Aircel Chennai Open 2012, said that his aim is to move closer to the top five in the world in the upcoming season. "I'd like to be closer to the top five. I want to be a consistent top-10 player," Tipsarevic, currently ranked number 9 in the world, said. The Serbian said he is not "just...
08:05 PM, Jan 06, 2012
Chennai: Top seeded Indian pair of Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna survived a scare from unseeded duo of Swiss Stanislaus Wawrinka and Andreas Beck of Germany to storm into the doubles semifinal of the Chennai Open on Thursday. The Indian pair clinched the match with a 6-4,7-6 (3)scoreline in only 74 minutes. The pair combined well and co-ordinated with an improved approach compared to their Wednesday's match against Xavier Malisse...
11:02 PM, Jan 05, 2012
Chennai: Serbian top seed Janko Tipsarevic hardly broke a sweat in a clinical 6-1, 6-3 elimination of Indian Wildcard Yuki Bhambri, in the second round of the Chennai Open on Thursday. In a match that lasted just 62 minutes, Tipsarevic, the world No 9, breezed past Bhambri, who initially appeared overawed but showed spirit in the second set. Bhambri, who upset Slovakian Karol Beck in the first round to set...
10:20 PM, Jan 05, 2012
Chennai: The newly-formed Indo-Serbian combination of Leander Paes and Janko Tipsarevic survived their first test when they beat Canadian pair of Vasek Pospisil and Milos Raonic 6-3, 4-6, 10-7 to enter the quarter-finals of the doubles event in the Aircel Chennai Open here on Wednesday. Despite some awkward moments in the second set that the Canadians dominated, Paes and Tipsarevic combined well enough to pull through a tough match that...
11:54 PM, Jan 04, 2012
Chennai: Defending champion and third seed Stanislas Wawrinka shrugged off a first set loss to beat lucky loser Edouard Roger-Vasselin while talented Canadian Milos Raonic, the fourth seed, brushed aside Victor Hanescu in straight sets to enter the third round of the Aircel Chennai Open here on Wednesday. Wawrinka, the 26-year old World No.17 from Switzerland, who has enjoyed a profitable run in this season opening tournament the past two...
09:05 PM, Jan 04, 2012
Chennai: Belgian wild card David Goffin knocked out compatriot and last year's runner-up Xavier Malisse 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the first round of the Chennai Open on Tuesday. The 124th-ranked Goffin rallied from a set down to beat the seventh-seeded Malisse, also the 2007 champion, in one hour and 53 minutes after securing the crucial break in the sixth game of the third set. Another Belgian to suffer an upset...
09:51 PM, Jan 03, 2012
Chennai: Indian tennis veteran Mahesh Bhupathi asserted that playing from the deuce court would not pose much of a problem for him while partnering Rohan Bopanna, and with more practice the pair would be ready for the challenges ahead. Bhupathi, like Bopanna, has always played from the ad court (left-hand side), and though he admitted to some "teething problems" in getting used to playing on the right side, he was...
07:50 PM, Jan 03, 2012
Chennai: Former world number one junior player Yuki Bhambri made an impassioned plea for financial support to young Indian tennis players who are in the critical transitional stage of moving into senior ranks. Speaking to the media after his 6-2, 6-3 rout of Slovakia's Karol Beck in the first round of the Chennai Open on Monday, the 19-year-old Bhambri felt that players needed full-fledged trainers and coaches like the senior...
04:37 AM, Jan 03, 2012
Chennai: Indian ace tennis star Somdev Devvarman pulled out of the ATP Chennai Open on Monday because of a recurring shoulder injury. "With great disappointment, I have to inform the fans and organisers of the Chennai Open 2012 that due to a recurring shoulder injury I will not be able to participate in this year's event," said Somdev, a finalist here in 2009. "Keeping the Australian Open in mind, my...
12:17 AM, Jan 03, 2012
Chennai: Indian wildcard entrant Yuki Bhambri shocked higher-ranked Karol Beck of Slovakia 6-2, 6-3 to make the second round of the ATP Chennai Open on Monday. Elsewhere, Israeli Dudi Sela routed sixth-seeded Italian Fabio Fognini 6-0, 6-1 to set up a second-round clash by Benoit Paire. Paire beat Spaniard Pere Riba 6-2, 6-1. Displaying tremendous variation in pace and game plan, Bhambri, ranked 345 to Beck's 101, eked out only...
11:31 PM, Jan 02, 2012
Chennai: Having split with Mahesh Bhupathi for the third time, Leander Paes on Sunday declined to state who he will partner at the London Olympics later this year, but asserted that his priority would be to stay injury-free through the rather cramped season. "Both are my priorities," he said, referring to his ambition of winning an Olympic medal and also a Grand Slam tile that eluded him last year. "But...
07:22 PM, Jan 01, 2012
Chennai: Indian hopes in the qualifying competition of the Aircel Chennai Open evaporated as Rohan Bopanna, Mohit Mayur Jayaprakash and Prajnesh Gunneswaran were packed off here on Sunday. Davis Cupper and doubles specialist Bopanna went down to fifth seed Go Soeda of Japan in two tie-breaks, while Jayaprakash hardly troubled fourth seeded Canadian Vasek Pospisil to lose in straight sets, as also Prajnesh Gunneswaran who went down to USA's Rajeev...
07:06 PM, Jan 01, 2012
Chennai: Local favourite Somdev Devvarman could clash with defending champion Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland in the second round of the Aircel Chennai Open if both the players manage to clear the first round hurdle. Ranked 84, Somdev on Saturday drew French player Eric Prodon, placed 13 spots below the Indian in ranking ladder, for his tournament opener as the draw ceremony was held here. Somdev, who made the final here...
05:11 PM, Dec 31, 2011
Chennai: The organisers of the Chennai Open have said that Robin Haase has withdrawn from the event due to an injury but the Dutch player on Friday tweeted that he could not make the tournament due to visa problems. According to a release from the organisers, Frederico Gil of Portugal will replace Haase in the main draw of Chennai Open after the Dutch sixth seed was ruled out of the...
10:40 PM, Dec 30, 2011
Chennai: If Serbian Janko Tipsarevic fancies himself as a top contender for the title in the 2012 ATP Aircel Chennai Open, then it is not without good reason, especially since he ended the year on a high with a win against World No. 1 and compatriot Novak Djokovic at the Tour Finals in London. In fact, 2011 was a good year for the 27-year old Serb, who broke into top-10...
06:46 PM, Dec 30, 2011
Chennai: World number 17 and defending champion Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland sounded a note of caution ahead of the Chennai Open, saying the field was "very interesting" and nothing could be taken for granted in the world of professional tennis. "I can't wait to kick off the season after working hard during the off-season," said Wawrinka, who has won a gold medal partnering Roger Federer at the Beijing Olympics. "I...
11:52 PM, Dec 29, 2011
Chennai: Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and N Sriram Balaji along with Ramkumar Ramanathan and Mohit Mayur have been given wild card entries into the doubles main draw of the ATP Aircel Chennai Open to be held here from January 2 to 8. It will be their maiden appearance at the Chennai Open for the two wild card teams. Left-handed Nedunchezhiyan, at 556, is the highest-ranked singles player among the four all of...
05:42 PM, Dec 28, 2011
Chennai: Rohan Bopanna and Mahesh Bhupathi are all set for the start of their new partnership that begins with the 2012 Aircel Chennai Open from January 2-8. "This was a conscious decision on our part as we had our eyes set on the London Olympics," Bhupathi said. "I have known Hesh (Bhupathi) since I played my first Davis Cup match in 2002, so we go back a long way. I...
07:30 PM, Dec 27, 2011
Chennai: Somdev Devvarman has struggled at the Chennai Open after his breakthrough year in 2009, but the Indian tennis ace is determined to improve his record at his home event though he admitted that the road ahead would not be smooth. Somdev had reached the final in 2009, losing the title match to Marin Cilic and then failed to move beyond the second and first rounds the following years respectively....
06:55 PM, Dec 26, 2011
