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Sania Mirza continues to delight her Indian fans. She followed up her CommonWealth Games individual silver with an Asiad bronze at Guangzhou. Mirza may be struggling with her ranking on the WTA tour but is enjoying her time in the sun post her recent marriage to Shoaib Malik and a renaissance representing India. Sania and her partner Vishnu Vardhan tamed Tamarine Tanasugarn and Sanchai Ratiwatana 6-3, 6-7 (7-3), 10-5 in the mixed doubles semis to assure the Hyderabadi of another silver—at least.
Somdev Devvarman too stormed into the Asian Games semis. The Indian games contingent is thus assured of at least a bronze medal in the men’s singles. Somdev is seeded second in his event.Somdev and Sanam Singh beat Cho-Soong Jae & Kim Hyun Joon (Kor) 6-3, 7-5 in the men’s doubles semis to reach the final. Another gold could be India’s here.
The Indian tennis fan’s cup of joy overflows. The Indian Express pair of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi have announced their intention to play doubles together on the ATP tour. They will join forces for the Chennai Open and the Australian Open early next year. Bhupathi and Paes last played together in 1999. That also happens to be the year the duo made it to the finals of all four Grand Slams—a unique achievement.
From displacing Roger Federer as the No. 1 tennis player to knocking the 16 Slam holder off his perch as the most sporting player in 2010, Nadal is proving to be the Swiss’ bete-noire. Nadal was chosen for the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award by his fellow players. Roger Federer had won it six times in a row until last year. Federer, though, remains the fan favourite.
Carlos Moya made a quiet exit from men’s tennis this week but not before endorsing his one-time practice partner and fellow Mallorcan, Rafael Nadal.
“He’s one of the greatest ever. But he’s on his way to become, who knows, maybe the greatest."
Andy Roddick has voiced similar sentiments about the Spaniard. Talking about the Federer-Nadal rivalry, the American had this to say:
"Rafa has had an unbelievable year.What he has done is unreal. To put it into context what Roger and Rafa have achieved for the past five years I would hope that people appreciate it because I guarantee people will be writing in 15 years time that these were the good old days."
Before Nadal came along, fans hoped that the next big rivalry on the courts—after Sampras-Agassi—would be Federer versus Roddick.
The news that the ATP tour will be a curtailed one from 2012 has had mixed reactions. Although the number of tournaments remains the same, the players will now have six weeks to recover and prepare for the next season. But it seems like the tour will become even more hectic and crowded with more events scheduled in a shorter time span.
Roger Federer gave the move a cautious thumbs-up:
"I think it’s a good thing but time will tell. It’s a decision taken. It’s in stone now. I think it’s good to have somewhat of a bit of a longer off season.Will we have less or more injuries because the calendar is more packed? I don’t know. But I definitely think it’s a step in the right direction.I was not the guy fighting it as much as maybe other players because I feel if the season’s long, you take more breaks during the season. But I think just having a bit more of an off-season makes more sense for everybody."
In Davis Cup news, Julien Benneteau has pulled out of the French squad citing a wrist injury. Jo-Wilfred Tsonga—injured knee— is the other notable absentee from the French team. This can only be good news for the Serbs led by Novak Djokovic.
Pakistan’s Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi has been appointed United Nations Development Project (UNDP) National Goodwill Ambassador. Qureishi will aid in flood relief and raise the UNDP’s profile in Pakistan. He joins a select band of athletes to be honoured so: Lionel Messi, Pau Gasol, David Beckham, and Max Mirnyi.
Update: Somdev Devvarman and Sanam Singh won gold for India in men’s doubles at the Asian Games, when they beat Gong M and Li Z of China 6-3, 6-7, 10-8 on Monday. Sania Mirza and Vishnu Vardhan settled for silver losing the mixed doubles final 6-4, 1-6, 2-10 to Chan Yung Jan and Yang Tsung Hua.
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