Mahesh Bhupathi tweets picture of Mascos Baghdatis semi naked on the massage table

It's not every day you get to see players in their locker rooms or half naked on the massage table.

Doubles specialist Mahesh Bhupathi tweeted a picture of daddy Marcos Baghdatis half naked on the massage table getting a good treatment not only from one Australian Open staff but three!

Which tennis player would you like to massage?

(Image via Mahesh Bhupathi's Twitter page)

Mixed doubles tennis for London 2012

Finally the IOC has approved adding mixed doubles event to the Olympics.

This new category will be part of the lineup for the 2012 London Games, where the tournament will be played on grass at Wimbledon.

Rendy and Hsieh

Asia has some very good mixed double pairs like India's Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi (2009 Australian Open champs) as well as Taiwan's Rendy Lu Yen-hsun and Hsieh Su-wei (Asian Hopman Cup winners).

India could be the best in Asia

I'm still saddened by Rendy Lu's lost to Somdev Devvarman in the fourth rubber in last weekend's Davis Cup tie between Taiwan and India.

His fluctuating performance is probably one of the reasons why I don't blog for days.

But to be fair to Rendy, India already knew from the start that they had the extra edge over Taiwan.

With Grand Slam doubles specialists like Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, and upcoming tennis star like Somdev Devvarman, they look like a tough team to beat.

Kudos to the Indian Davis Cup team for making it to the third round where they will be meeting Australia who narrowly beat Thailand.

However congrats to Thai no. 1 Danai Udomchoke for his perfect performance in the second and fourth rubbers which saw him beating Australian teenage player Brydan Klein and former world no. 1 Lleyton Hewitt.

The other two countries who made it to the third round tie of the Asia/Oceania Zone Group 1 are Japan and Uzbekistan lead by Kei Nishikori and Denis Istomin respectively.

For complete results, click here.

(Images via udn.com, hindu.com, zimbio.com)

India, Taiwan to face off in Davis Cup tie

The Indian Davis Cup team believe they have the extra edge against Taiwan in the second round tie of the Asia/Oceania Zone Group I, starting tomorrow.

Based on ranking, new poster boy Somdev Devvarman who will take on Chen Ti in the opening singles rubber could win the first point for India.

Taiwan will heavily rely on Asia's no. 1 Rendy Lu Yen-Hsun. He missed Taiwan's first round tie against Kazakhstan, so his return has made the Taiwan team more confident.

But let us not forget that Rohan Bopanna is 2-1 in head-to-head against Lu over the last two years. Bopanna could steal a point in this second singles rubber if Rendy is to continue with his fluctuating game.

World's top doubles players Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi is expected to have little problem in dealing with Yang Tsung-Hua and Yi Chu-Huan.

The fourth and fifth rubbers are going to be tough and unpredictable. I do believe that Rendy will at least win a point from the two matches he's playing.

To watch the Davis Cup tie live streaming online, click here.

(Images posted by Elvis via menstennisforums.com)

Sania Mirza out of Fed Cup, missed 'Slumdog Millionaire'

Sania Mirza is never far from controversies, isn't she?

After winning a Grand Slam with Mahesh Bhupathi last week, she announced earlier today that she had to skip India’s Fed Cup campaign this week.

She blamed it on her abdominal pain, apart from the fatigue following the Australian Open.

Asked about her decision not to play in India to steer clear of controversies, Sania said, “I never said I am going to boycott (events in India). As usual, it was blown out of proportion. Who does not want to play in India? I love to play in the country. But not many tournaments are happening now.”

Her absence has left India with just three players for the event, which features eight nations, split into two groups, in round robin ties including two singles matches and a doubles clash, over three days before the top side from each division meets in Saturday's final.

The Indian team is world no.377 Abkita Bhambri, Sanaa Bhambri (478) and Rushmi Chakravarthi (509).

The winner of Saturday's final advances to the World Group II play-offs in April.

The other nations in the Asia-Oceania play-offs are Australia, Thailand, Taiwan, Uzbekistan, Indonesia and Korea.

Meanwhile, Sania sounded upset with Bhupathi for not taking her to watch 'Slumdog Millionaire'.

Sania wanted to watch the much-acclaimed film, but instead of taking her along, Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna went ahead and saw the movie.

“Mahesh and Rohan ditched me,” Sania said.

(Via telegraphindia.com, AFP; Image via Yahoo! Sports)

India welcomes Aussie Open champions

Australian Open boys champion Yuki Bhambri and mixed doubles champion Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza returned to India yesterday.

The Indira Gandhi International airport in New Delhi and the Chatrapati Shivaji International airport in Mumbai welcomed the nation's tennis stars with a heroes welcome.

Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi returned to Mumbai today amidst an arousing welcome, where fans of the duo cheered the Australian Open mixed doubles champs.



The pair received a grand reception (although Bupathi said he wasn't feeling comfortable about big reception like this) after their successful stint down under and the two expressed relief and joy on arrival.

It was a moment of rejoice for the Bhambri family, who were present at the IGI airport.

Huge banners announced Yuki's homecoming as thousands were wating patiently for their hero.

Yuki was received by the All India Tennis Association officials and greeted with garlands.

The young champ just smiled to the waiting mediapersons and shutterbugs.

Yuki is also seen here with his mother Indu Bhambri as he comes out of his residence in New Delhi to talk to journalists.

(Via timesnow.tv, Images via Yahoo! Sports)

Mahesh Bupathi not a big fan of receptions; Mike Bryan doesn't need to pick up the bills

"Hopefully not too big. I'm not a big fan of receptions. I'd like to sneak out the back door at the airport tomorrow."
~ Mahesh Bhupathi on the reception he expects back in India after winning the country's first Grand Slam mixed doubles title with Sania Mirza.

Mirza and Bhupathi beat Nathalie Dechy of France and Andy Ram of Israel 6-3, 6-1 at Rod Laver Arena.

"All I know is Serena usually picks up the bill."
~ Mike Bryan makes plan for an all-American celebration in Melbourne.

American twins Bob and Mike Bryan won their seventh Grand Slam title with a 2-6, 7-5, 6-0 win over Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles in the Australian Open doubles final.

The brothers, who regained their No. 1 ranking by reaching the final, were the second set of American siblings to win Grand Slam titles after Venus and Serena Williams won the women's doubles.

(Images via Yahoo! Sports)

Q&A with Sania Mirza & Mahesh Bhupathi

Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi defeated Aleksandra Wozniak and Daniel Nestor in the mixed doubles quarterfinal match today with the results 3-6, 6-4, 10-5.

They will next face the Czech pair of Iveta Benesova and Lukas Dlouhy.

Here their interview via AO website.

Q. How long have you been playing doubles together?
(There’s some back and forth banter about how many tournament they’ve played. Is it three, four or five? Finally it’s decided: Australian, Wimbledon, French and US Open.)
Sania Mirza (SM): Two years, this is the second year.

Q. How did you pair up as a doubles team?
SM: Well, he manages me, he has a company he manages me, we’re great friends, we know each other, we’re Indian. I guess there are enough similarities.

Q. Are you happy with how you’re doing in the doubles?
Mahesh Bhupathi (MB): Yes, we’re pleased, we’re still alive! We’ll just take it one at a time and see how it goes.

Q. What’s your strategy going into your next mixed doubles match?
MB: Win (both laugh)

Q. How are you handling the heat on court?
SM: It’s hot! It helps that we’re Indian, I guess. We’re used to it, but it was very hot today.

Q. Do you hang out when you’re not playing doubles?
MB: Sometimes; obviously we’ve known each other a long time. I mean, we did our pre-season training season together in December with a group of players in India in Bangalore this year. We train together in the off-season for the last two years.

Q. What do you like to do when you’re not playing tennis?
SM: I like to catch a movie, very normal stuff, go out for a quiet dinner.
MB: I’ve got enough to do, so I spend a lot of time on my computer. That’s about it. Go out for dinner or movies. I’ve got a coach and a trainer travelling with me so it’s a big entourage.

Q. If you weren’t tennis players, what would you be?
SM: I’ve been playing since I was six. Honestly, I don’t know. I was interested in interior decoration.
MB: I’ve been playing since I was three, so I haven’t even thought about it.

Q. Your compatriot, Yuki Bhambri is playing in the junior boys’ tournament here. Do you have any advice for him?
MB: He’s the biggest talent we have in India right now, so it’s very exciting for us. We’re hoping he can make the transition from the juniors to the main game very soon.

Q. Have you had a chance to see much of Melbourne?
MB: I’ve been here so many times. We have a set number of restaurants that we try and visit every time we’re here.

Q. You both travel a lot. What’s the one thing you can’t leave home without?
SM: My phone, [same for] him too (referring to Bhupathi)
MB: My laptop.

Q. What’s the favourite city you’ve visited?
SM: This is one of my favourite cities, actually. And New York.
MB: Australia’s definitely one of my favourite destinations.

(Interview and image via AO website)

Chennai Open: From the catwalk to the court

Prakash Amritraj, Horia Tecau, Nikolay Davydenko and Mahesh Bhupathi

In keeping with tradition, Kingfisher Chennai Open Good Times Opening Party kicked off with a fashion show featuring the spring/summer collection of Manoviraj Khosla and Vivek Karunakaran’s uber-chic collection.

Players who did the catwalk were Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi, Prakash Amritraj, Nikolay Davydenko, Yves Allegaro and Horia Tecau.

Leander Paes

Mahesh Bhupathi

Here are more off court photos.

Leander Paes and dubs partner Lukas Dlouhy pose on elephant sculptures.

Alberto Martin and Pablo Andujar show us Spain's other favourite sport.

Top-seeded Nikolay Davydenko advanced to the second round of the Chennai Open after beating Daniel Koellerer 6-2, 6-3.

A favourite to win at this tournament, Davydenko will next face Lukas Dlouhy, who needed three sets to beat Go Soeda of Japan.

Third-seed, Marin Cilic had little difficulty in making the second round with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Alberto Martin in 91 minutes, while Bjorn Phau did not exert much in getting past Santiago Ventura of Spain 6-2, 7-5.

Indian player Prakash Amirtraj suffered a disappointing defeat to Rainer Schuettler 2-6, 6-4, 1-6 in 85 minutes, becoming the topic of criticism on continuing to falter despite getting the wild cards in succession in the event.

Rohan Bopanna who qualified for the event after beating Michael Berrer 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 however lost in the first round to Denis Isomin 6-4, 7-6(3).

For more info and results, click here.

(Via chennaiopen.org, ptinews.com, timesofindia.indiatimes.com; Images viaatpworldtour.com)

Winners during Diwali break

First of all, wishing all Indian friends Happy Diwali.

Kinda miss a lot after taking a few days break from the blogosphere. However I'm glad I did spend the weekend holiday with bro and sis and the new addition to our family, Pepper who is just 7-week old.


So here are the weekend winners in brief:

Roger Federer conquers Basel

Roger Federer won his hometown tournament for the third straight year on Sunday, beating second-seeded David Nalbandian of Argentina 6-3, 6-4 in the Swiss Indoors final.

“Things are back into a groove the way I like it. I’m happy with the way I’m playing,” Federer said.

“It feels great to win at home. Once you had it you want more of it and you want to do it over and over again.”

In the doubles title, Mark Knowles became the 21st player in ATP history (since 1973) to capture 50 career doubles titles after partnering Indian Mahesh Bhupathi to the Davidoff Swiss Indoors champion Sunday with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Germans Christopher Kas and Philipp Kohlschreiber.

The final lasted 61 minutes.

“I’m elated,” said Knowles.

“It’s a big number and I’d be a liar if I said I hadn’t been thinking about it, as I’ve lost in a couple of finals lately. I’m really happy to win my 50th title and get past the milestone."

Andy Murray retains St. Petersburg Open title

Top-seeded Andy Murray won the St. Petersburg Open for the second straight year by beating qualifier Andrey Golubev 6-1, 6-1.

“I played well today, I really enjoyed myself this week,” Murray said.

“At the start of both sets it was quite close, but once I got ahead I started to feel much more comfortable. In terms of the score it was easy, but it wasn’t the easiest match I’ve played on the tour.”

In the doubles title, American Travis Parrott and Filip Polasek of the Slovak Republic earned a hard-fought 3-6, 7-6(4) 10-8 win over first-time pairing Indian Rohan Bopanna and Max Mirnyi of Belarus at the St. Petersburg Open.

“We are really happy to have won our first ATP title as a team. We started playing together in February. It is fun to have worked our way up from the Challenger circuit and get the chance to win an ATP title," said Parrott.

Robin Soderling wins at Lyon

Seventh-seeded Robin Soderling of Sweden beat Julien Benneteau 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-1 to claim his third career title and first since 2005.

Soderling is set to break into the top 20 for the first time on Monday at either No. 18 or 19.

“As a player you always have the goal of reaching the top 100. Once you get there, you want to get to the top 50,” he said.

“Reaching the top 20 feels great. It has been my goal for two or three years.”

Second seeds Michael Llodra of France and Israeli Andy Ram, playing together for the first time this week, captured the Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon title on Sunday after beating Australian Stephen Huss and Ross Hutchins of Great Britain 6-3, 5-7, 10-8 in 80 minutes.

“I'm very happy to win this title together with Andy,” said Llodra.

“Winning with him in Lyon makes it even more special since this place means a lot to me. I usually play with French partners, most of the time with Arnaud Clement and I'm happy that I won this title together with my friend Andy."

Elena Dementieva takes 3rd title of year in Luxembourg

Elena Dementieva won her third title of the year on Sunday, outlasting Caroline Wozniacki 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4) in the Fortis Championships.

"I feel like I just won a Grand Slam," Dementieva said.

"I think it was the most difficult final I've ever played. Caroline was playing so well - she has such a good defensive game, but was also hitting really good drop shots and passing shots. I had to stay positive and aggressive and I'm so happy I was able to win today."

In the doubles titile, Sorana Cristea and Marina Erakovic took the title with defeat of no. 3 seeds Vera Dushevina and Mariya Koryttseva in a match tie-break 2-6, 6-3, 10-8.

"We clicked," said Erakovic after the 4th seeds' Tier III win.

"Sorana plays very well off the baseline, and has a great serve, and I can do a lot of things at the net. I think that combination helped us this week."

Ana Ivanovic ends title drought at Linz

Top-seeded Ana Ivanovic routed No. 2-seeded Vera Zvonareva 6-2, 6-1 in the final of the Generali Ladies to win her first title since the French Open.

"Every final is a new experience and winning a title is always special," Ivanovic said.

"Especially after coming back from an injury and putting in a lot of hard work, it's great to see the results. It's a very good feeling to win another title. I played better and better in every match and really enjoyed my week in Linz."

In the doubles final, second seeds Katarina Srebotnik and Ai Sugiyama upset top seeds Cara Black and Liezel Huber 6-4, 7-5, to capture the Tier II Generali Ladies Linz title.

(Via AP, ATP website, WTA website)

Andy Murray clinches Madrid Masters; Marcin Matkowski & Mariusz Fyrstenberg win dubs title

World no. 4 Andy Murray beat Gilles Simon of France 6-4, 7-6 (6) on Sunday to win the Mutua Madrilena Madrid Masters.

The U.S. Open finalist became the first Briton to win four titles in a season.

He will be the first Briton in the Open era since Fred Perry in 1936 to finish the year at No. 4.

“Gilles was hitting much better from behind the baseline, but I got a lot of free points from my serve,” Murray said.

“That was probably the key to my win today.”

Simon had previously won five straight three-set matches at Madrid.

“I couldn’t move like I’m used to and Andy knew it, so he tried to kill me by making me run,” said Simon, barely able to walk the step up to the microphone.

“Often I missed two easy shots, one after another. That’s why I lost today; I couldn’t focus on every point. It was too much effort for me.”

Murray beat Roger Federer in the semifinals, while Simon defeated top-ranked Rafael Nadal to reach his fourth final this year.

Their victories denied a fifth Nadal-Federer final of 2008.

I know you guys would have liked to have seen a Roger-Rafa final but you brought a great atmosphere, so thanks for coming,” Murray told the crowd at the Madrid Arena, which hosted the tournament for the final time as it moves to the newly built “Caja Magica” (Magic Box) next year.

The 23-year-old Simon is ninth in the race to qualify for the season-ending tournament—seven points behind No. 7 David Ferrer and six back of Juan Martin del Potro and the eighth and final qualifying spot.

“It won’t be easy because there are one or two tournaments left. I don’t know if I play in Lyon because right now I just want to rest,” Simon said.

In the doubles final, 7th-seeded Poles Marcin Matkowski and Mariusz Fyrstenberg won their second ATP title of the season on Sunday with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over 4th seeds Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles at the Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid.

It is the first ATP Masters Series title for the Poles, who finished runners-up to Bob and Mike Bryan in the Madrid final last season.

In the quarterfinals this week they knocked out second seeds and Wimbledon champions Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic and they saved three match points in their semifinal win over Jeff Coetzee and Wesley Moodie.

The Poles began the week at No. 9 in the Stanford ATP Doubles Race with 307 points, 17 points behind Marcelo Melo and Andre Sa in eighth position.

They won their first ATP title of the season at Warsaw, and have also finished runners-up at Barcelona, Bucharest and Metz; this is their seventh career team title. They now have a 33-23 match record on the season.

(Via AP, ATP official website, Images via Yahoo! Sport)