The Indo-Australian combine defeated Monday and Fearnley 7-5, 6-3 in a second-round match on court three
Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden, the sixth-seeded pair, defeated the British wildcard team of Johannus Monday and Jacob Fearnley, securing their spot in the men's doubles pre-quarterfinals at Wimbledon on Monday (10).
The Indo-Australian combine defeated Monday and Fearnley 7-5, 6-3 in a second-round match on court three.
Bopanna and Ebden next meet Reese Stalder and David Pel. The American-Dutch pairing beat Nicolas Mahut and Llyod Glasspool 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (10-7) on Sunday.
(PTI)
The Russian, seeded fifth, defeated Thailand’s Kasidit Samrej in five sets, eventually winning 6-2, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2. (Photo: Getty Images)
DANIIL MEDVEDEV, last year's runner-up, survived a tough challenge and a temper flare-up to reach the second round of the Australian Open on Tuesday.
The Russian, seeded fifth, defeated Thailand’s Kasidit Samrej in five sets, eventually winning 6-2, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Medvedev struggled in his first match of the season against the world’s 418th-ranked player. "Second and third set I couldn't touch the ball. I didn't know what to do," he admitted.
At one point in the third set, Medvedev smashed his racquet and damaged the net camera in frustration before regaining composure to seal the victory on Rod Laver Arena.
Taylor Fritz, the fourth seed, had a smoother start to his campaign. The American needed just 1 hour and 46 minutes to dominate compatriot Jenson Brooksby, winning 6-2, 6-0, 6-3.
"It's never easy playing that first match in a Slam, there are some nerves, so I did a really good job shaking them off early and playing really solid," Fritz said.
France’s Gael Monfils overcame fellow countryman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in a gruelling five-set contest, continuing his late-career resurgence.
Monfils, who became the oldest singles champion in ATP Tour history with his Auckland Classic win, battled to a 7-6 (9/7), 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 6-7 (5/7), 6-4 victory in 3 hours and 46 minutes.
The 13th seed, Holger Rune of Denmark, also survived a five-set test, defeating China’s Zhang Zhizhen 4-6, 6-3, 5-4, 3-6, 6-4.
In the women’s draw, Elena Rybakina, Emma Navarro, and Emma Raducanu secured early victories.
Rybakina defeated 16-year-old Emerson Jones 6-1, 6-1, while Raducanu beat Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/2).
Raducanu admitted struggles with her serve, saying it had “a mind of its own.”
Anna Kalinskaya, seeded 13th, withdrew from her match due to undisclosed reasons, and lucky loser Eva Lys stepped in, claiming a 6-2, 6-2 win.
(With inputs from AFP)
Saikia had been serving as BCCI’s interim secretary following Shah's departure last month. (Photo: Getty Images)
DEVAJIT SAIKIA has been elected as the new secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the board announced on Sunday. Saikia, a former player and advocate, was the sole nominee for the position.
"Devajit Saikia is declared duly elected as the secretary of BCCI," the BCCI said in a statement.
The 55-year-old replaces Jay Shah, who stepped down to become the chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
The BCCI also named businessman and state cricket administrator Prabhtej Singh Bhatia as its new treasurer.
Saikia had been serving as BCCI’s interim secretary following Shah's departure last month.
Although Saikia had a modest cricket career, he has strong connections with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
He began his administrative career as general secretary of a cricket club in Assam under Himanta Biswa Sarma, now the state’s chief minister and a BJP leader.
Both Saikia and Sarma later worked together in the Assam Cricket Association. When Sarma became chief minister, Saikia was appointed as Assam’s advocate general.
As a cricketer, Saikia was a wicketkeeper-batsman who played four first-class matches for Assam, scoring 53 runs.
(With inputs from AFP)
Jannik Sinner (Photo by Kelly Defina/Getty Images)
THE first round of the Australian Open continues on Monday (13) at Melbourne Park where top seed and defending champion Jannik Sinner seeks a third Grand Slam title while Novak Djokovic begins his quest for a record-extending 25th major.
World number one Sinner is playing under the cloud of a potential two-year ban due to his doping case while 37-year-old Djokovic, a 10-times champion in Melbourne, returns to his favourite hunting ground as the seventh seed.
Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek are also in action while four Australians, including Nick Kyrgios, will get their chance to shine on the showcourts.
Kyrgios returns to Grand Slam action for the first time in two years when the Australian takes on Briton Jacob Fearnley.
Kyrgios has been sidelined due to knee, foot and wrist problems and he returns to his home Slam as an unranked player, still struggling with an abdominal strain and 'niggles' that forced him to pull out of an exhibition event.
The 29-year-old spent some time in the broadcast booth during his break from the game but he is confident tennis has not left him behind.
"People are always going to say, 'Be realistic, you're not going to be the same'. I unfortunately don't have that mindset. I always have utmost confidence in my ability," said Kyrgios, whose best result in Melbourne was a quarter-final run in 2015.
"If I'm playing my style of tennis, my unpredictability, I have a chance against anyone."
The Australian Open marks Fearnley's second main draw appearance at a Grand Slam but he made his mark at his first at Wimbledon last year, winning his opening round match and then taking a set off Djokovic on centre court.
American third seed Gauff begins her campaign against compatriot and 2020 champion Kenin, whose career has nosedived since reaching a career-high number four in the world.
Kenin fell outside the top 200 due to a poor run of form and injuries before slowly making her way back into the top 100.
However, Gauff is still wary of the 26-year-old, who beat her en route to the 2020 title and holds a career 2-1 record over her.
"I lost to her at Wimbledon (in 2023). She's obviously a great player, she won this tournament," Gauff told reporters.
"I think she's a great mover, has great groundstrokes, pretty steady player, can play aggressive, also play really good defence. It's going to be a tough match ... I think it's good for me, though."
Japan's twice Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka faces Caroline Garcia in a repeat of last year's first-round match where the Frenchwoman advanced after a straight-sets win.
"New year, same draw... This is starting to be a classic," Garcia said on X, while Osaka thought her agent was joking when she was informed of the first-round match-up.
Osaka is not at 100 per cent after pulling out of her first WTA Tour final in almost three years in Auckland and the 27-year-old said the results of a scan on an abdominal injury were not "fantastic".
(Reuters)
Over his career, Tamim played 243 ODIs, 70 Tests, and 78 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is). (Photo: Getty Images)
FORMER Bangladesh one-day captain Tamim Iqbal has announced his retirement from international cricket to avoid becoming a distraction for the team ahead of the Champions Trophy.
Tamim made his international debut in a One-Day International (ODI) against Zimbabwe in Harare in 2007.
Over his career, he played 243 ODIs, 70 Tests, and 78 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is).
The 35-year-old had initially retired from international cricket before the 2023 ODI World Cup in India but reversed his decision within a day. However, he missed the tournament due to a back injury.
Tamim scored over 15,000 runs across all formats and recorded 25 centuries—the highest by any Bangladesh batter.
His last appearance for Bangladesh was during their 2-0 ODI series loss at home to New Zealand in September 2023.
"I have been away from international cricket for a long time. That distance will remain. My chapter in international cricket is over," Tamim wrote on social media.
He added, "I have been thinking about this for a long time. Now that a big event like the Champions Trophy is coming up, I do not want to be the focus of anyone's attention, which could lead to the team losing their focus."
The Champions Trophy will be held in Pakistan from February 19 to March 9. Bangladesh are placed in Group A alongside hosts Pakistan, New Zealand, and India.
Tamim also mentioned that captain Najmul Hossain Shanto had requested his return for the Champions Trophy and that discussions took place with the selection committee.
"I am grateful to them for still considering me in the team. However, I have listened to my own heart," he said.
(With inputs from Reuters)
Sumit Nagal
DISILLUSIONED players declined national duty and their governing body grappled with infighting as Indian tennis struggled to stay afloat in a largely disappointing 2024.
The All India Tennis Association (AITA) and the players being at loggerheads was not a new development. But the striking part was the lack of transparency in decision-making and nearly non-existent effort to address the concerns of the players.
The result was that the game plunged to new depths.
The AITA president Anil Jain, who was accused of using his position for personal gain, avoided facing a no-confidence motion from the state associations only after he agreed to step aside.
Towards the end of a forgettable year, a new team of administrators won the elections, promising to change Indian tennis, but a legal challenge filed by two former players did not allow the reform process to begin.
There were accusations that the elections were held in violation of the sports code. The matter will not be heard before March 25, putting on hold the much needed revamp of the system.
In a nutshell, everything that could have gone wrong for Indian tennis in 2024, did go wrong. Yuki Bhambri refused to play for India in a Davis Cup tie against Sweden in September without offering any reason for his decision.
But it was made clear by federation sources that his withdrawal was in response to being left out of the Paris Olympics where Rohan Bopanna, a top 10 player, preferred N Sriram Balaji as his doubles partner.
Bhambri had travelled to Islamabad in Pakistan, despite security concerns, for a Davis Cup engagement in January-February and had the administrators discussed the situation with him, he might have been persuaded to let go of his misgivings.
But AITA could not give a convincing reply to Bhambri either about why his name was not sent for inclusion in the target Olympic podium scheme nor the role Bopanna played in making the choices for Paris.
Meanwhile, the decision by India’s top singles player, Sumit Nagal, to pull out of ties against both Pakistan and Sweden took everyone by surprise.
Captain Rohit Rajpal had agreed to Nagal’s demand for a remuneration amount of $50,000 (£39,980) for annual Davis Cup duty, but the player cited a back strain to pull out of the Sweden tie. He also withdrew from an ATP Tour event the following week.
AITA went public with Nagal’s demands for money after India were thrashed 4-0 by a beatable Sweden. This again triggered a war of words between AITA and Nagal.
Amid this controversy, Sasikumar Mukund, the secondbest singles player in India, was not even picked for the tie because a ban was imposed on him for his earlier refusal to travel to Pakistan owing to security fears and other disciplinary violations.
On court, India did not enjoy much success either. The 44-year-old Bopanna won the Australian Open men’s doubles title with Matthew Ebden in January, the high point of a productive partnership that drew to a close in November. But singles success was very limited.
After a decent first half in which Nagal touched a careerhigh rank of 68, his form began to fade in the second half of the season. Such was his struggle that in his last 12 tournaments, Nagal has managed to win only two matches – one at the Kitzbuhel Challenger in July and one at the Swiss Indoors Basel ATP event in October.
Placed 98, Nagal is now on the brink of dropping out of the top 100 and the next best player is Mukund, who is currently ranked 368.
The next line of players – Manas Dhamne, Karan Singh, Dev Javia and Aryan Shah – do not seem to have the support needed to become world beaters.
As for the women’s circuit, no player looks promising enough to be touted as the next big thing.
Given the crisis of talent, commentators say India needs a robust domestic circuit and a chain of ATP Challengers and WTA/ ITF women’s events to find players capable of competing on the global stage.
