CHENNAI: Yuki Bhambri and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan couldn’t have asked for better opponents to measure themselves against on the ATP Tour. Looking to justify the organiser’s generosity, the two Indian wild card entrants are up against players touted as future tennis stars, in the opening round of the 2014 Chennai Open that begins here on Monday.
The 25-year-old Jeevan will get his first taste of Tour main draw when he takes on Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic at the centre court on Monday. The clash of two southpaws, as Somdev Devvarman predicts, is expected to be an exciting contest.
Talented Jiri, world no. 84, is coming off a stupendous year capped with a newly-instituted ATP award — Star of Tomorrow.
The 21-year-old Yuki will cross swords with Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta, who won the most improved player award last season for jumping from 715 to a career-high 64 in the world rankings. Busta is coached by Javier Duarte who shaped the careers of Tommy Robredo, Carlos Costa, Alex Corretja and Alberto Berasategui — all former top 10 players.
Somdev has a rather easy opener as the 2009 finalist has drawn a qualifier. The top ranked Indian could run into sixth seed Marcel Granollers of Spain in the second round, if he progresses.
The top four seeds — Stanislas Wawrinka, Mikhail Youzhny, Fabio Fognini, Benoit Paire — have been given first round byes. Swiss star Wawrinka, who was part of the high-profile exhibition match in Abu Dhabi, is expected to land in Chennai only on Sunday and would begin his campaign on Wednesday.
Frenchman Paire said Wawrinka was the player to beat. “It’s a strong draw. I couldn’t practice much in the off-season because of a knee pain. I have three days here ahead my first round and it should help me get into the groove,” he said.
Paes to pair up with Fognini
Leander Paes seems to be on course for a century. The Indian ace has found his 96th partner in Fabio Fognini and the Indo-Italian makeshift team have been seeded second. Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, who are coming back together after a two-year gap, are the top seeded pair.
The Indo-Pak Express has a tough first round clash against defending champions Stanislas Wawrinka and Benoit Paire.
First round matches: Benjamin Becker (Ger) vs Julian Reister (Ger); Aljaz Bedene (Slo) vs Qualifier; Roberto Bautista Agut (Spa) vs Qualifier; Yuki Bhambri (Ind) vs Pablo Busta (Spa); Tim Symyczek (USA) vs Lu Yen-Hsun (Tpe); Vasek Pospisil (Can) vs Kyle Edmund (GBR); Marcel Granollers (Spa) vs Qualifier; Somdev Devvarman (Ind) vs Qualifier; Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (Spa) vs Oleksandr Nedovyesov (UKR); Edouard Roger-Vasselin (Fra) vs Albert Ramos (Spa); Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (Ind) vs Jiri Vesely (Cze); Dudi Sela (Isr) vs Lukas Lacko (Svk).
Paire eager to end title
Paire eager to end title
Hari Kishore M
CHENNAI: Reigning doubles champion and singles semi-finalist, Frenchman Benoit Paire is making a concerted effort to prove a point in the Chennai Open this year. Having overcome a bothersome knee which dented his pre-season training, the scrawny 24-year-old is hopeful of putting up a good show and replicate his last year’s performance.
Paire said winning the doubles title last year will spur him to do well in the season’s first tournament. “I will be very happy if I can repeat my last year’s performance. It is a motivating factor to come into a tournament where you have a good record. I was plagued by injuries last year. I want to do well here,” said the 24-year-old.
The French player does not have an ATP title to his credit but was a finalist twice. He is keen to break the drought. “It is never easy to win a title. I fought hard against experienced players. I hope to bag at least one or two titles this year,” he added.
Benoit is back from a knee injury that has kept him out of practice for several weeks now. “My pre-season training was not good. I had an elbow injury and then a knee injury that forced me to retire from tournaments and kept me out of practice. I can’t wait to get back to competitive tennis and the Chennai Open is a great opportunity,” he said.
The world number 26 admits that his coach Lionel Zimbler has transformed him into a better player. “I give credit to my coach. He has helped me improve as a player. His inputs improve my confidence and I don’t hesitate to seek his confidence,” said Paire, who is seeded four at the Chennai Open.
He is confident that his last year doubles partner and one of the tournament favourites Stanislas Wawrinka has what it takes to win the Open this year. “Based on the draw, I think it will be an interesting tournament. Wawrinka would be the player to watch out for. It is also a nice chance for many up and coming players to make a mark,” he added.
For a player of his ability it is something of a surprise that Paire is not a regular in the French Davis Cup team. “It is a dream for every player to represent his country in the Davis Cup. There are many good players in France, so the competition is tough . I’m looking forward to represent France at the earliest,” he said.
Paire’s face turned pink when a girl at the draw ceremony told him that he has a huge female fan following in India. “I don’t know what to say, but I am happy that girls like me,” he said, smiling.
But for now he has a single-minded devotion to winning his maiden title. The Frenchman hopes that Chennai will prove to be a happy hunting ground once again.
When flag-bearer Nadal impressed Spanish Davis Cup captain Javier
When flag-bearer Nadal impressed Spanish Davis Cup captain Javier
C. SANTHOSH KUMAR
CHENNAI:
The Davis Cup in the millennium year was a watershed in Spanish tennis history. It was Spain’s first taste of the coveted trophy and the victory over strong Australians at the Palau Sant Jordi Stadium in Barcelona sent the entire country into delirium.
Juan Carlos Ferrero who beat Patrick Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt in Spain’s 3-1 result would become a national hero and the occasion also had the country’s future superstar soaking in the atmosphere. An unheralded Rafael Nadal, 14-year-old then, had been doing flag-bearer duty for Spain.
“The kid seemed to have been overawed by the occasion. I think he was the national U-14 champion that year and thus got the privilege of holding the national flag standing next to the likes of Spain’s Davis Cup stars such as Albert Costa, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Joan Balcells and Alex Corretja,” recalled Javier Duarte, captain of the 2000 Spanish Davis Cup team.
Javier, who is here for the Chennai Open with his highly-talented ward Pablo Carreno Busta, said Nadal showed glimpses of his talent as a junior, but no one could have foreseen that he would become such a big star. “Nadal is a warrior on court, but off it he is completely different. Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have been pushing him hard, but I expect Nadal to continue his domination for another four years,” said Javier, who has coached the likes of Tommy Robredo, Alex Corretja, Alberto Berasategui, Carlos Costa — all former top 10 players. Costa is Nadal’s manager now.
Carreno, Javier’s current trainee, was one of the newsmakers of the 2013 ATP season for his impressive foray into top-65 from lowly 715. The 22-year-old, who won seven titles and 35 matches in succession on the Futures circuit, also won the Most Improved Player of the Year award. Curreno has surely made rapid strides but Javier is not fully convinced that he’s coaching another top-10 material. “He is still improving and has a long way to go,” said Curreno.
According to the year-end ranking list, Spain has eight players in top 50 and four of them are in top 20 with Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer in No.1 and No.3 positions respectively. Javier, who has worked as a sports director of the Spanish Federation (RFET), says the country has plenty of talents who have been inspired by heroes of different generations.
“The days of Manuel Orantes (1975 US Open champ) and Jose Higueras (world no.6 in 1983 and former coach of Roger Federer) marked the glorious era of Spanish tennis. After that the emergence of Emilio Sanchez (grand slam doubles champion in the late 80s) gave a new perspective,” said Javier.
“Then came the likes of Sergi Bruguera, Albert Costa, Alex Corretja, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Carlos Moya. Their success not only popularised the sport further, it also gave belief to youngsters that one can make a living out of tennis,” he said.
Stakhovsky sent packing
Stakhovsky sent packing
DC/ Hari Kishore M
CHENNAI: Top seed Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine lost to Russia’s Alexander Kudryavtsev 1-6, 6-4, 4-6 in the first round qualifiers of the Chennai Open on Saturday. Stakhovsky seemingly had the match in his bag when he led 3-1 in the decider but lost the plot by losing the next three games.
His Russian opponent prevailed one hour and 45 minutes on a hot and humid afternoon to set up a meeting with compatriot Karen Khachanov in the second round.
India endured a horrible day with only Ramkumar Ramanathan and Sanam Singh advancing to the next round. Mohit Mayur Jayaprakash, Sriram Balaji, Sumit Nagal, Saketh Myneni and Vijay Sundar Prashanth all bit the dust.
Sanam brushed aside Ajai Selvaraj 6-0, 6-0 and Ramkumar, too, had it easy against wild card Sumit Nagal with a 6-2, 6-0 win. Ramkumar will meet Russia’s Mikhail Elgin while Sanam Singh will lock horns with Marton Fucsovics of Hungary.
Earlier, India’s Mohit put up a brave fight before going down to second seed Go Soeda of Japan 6-7 (2), 5-7. Although the Indian looked aggressive, he could not match the skill and agility of Soeda.
