Tag Archives: Mahesh Bhupathi

Nadal to Participate in the Inaugural Edition of the International Premier Tennis League

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Rafael Nadal is preparing to join a league of champions in Asia…

The 27-year-old Spanish tennis star has signed up to participate in the inaugural edition of the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL).

Rafael Nadal

Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Serena Williams are all confirmed for the exhibition league that begins in late November in Asia.

Meanwhile, Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova and Li Na are not set to take part in the IPTL.

Indian doubles specialist, Mahesh Bhupathi, came up with the idea for the league, which will hope to be as successful as cricket’s Indian Premier League.

Tennis legends’ surprising comebacks

“The IPTL is the first-of-its-kind Asian tennis league with a unique concept bringing together the best tennis players from across the world on the same platform,” the IPTL said in a news release.

 

The format sees five teams, based in Mumbai, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and a yet to be confirmed city, play home and away matches. The matches are best-of-five sets but incorporate different sets — men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, mixed doubles and legends.

The official players list includes Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras in the legends category.

Questions still remain about how many matches the top players will play and how players will manage their schedules leading into January’s Australian Open.

Over the years, players have complained about how long the tennis season lasts — between 10 and 11 months — and the IPTL is scheduled to run from November 28 to December 20.

Granollers & Lopez Claim First ATP World Tour Finals Doubles Title

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Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez have claimed their first ATP World Tour Finals doubles title…

The 26-year-old and 30-year-old Spaniards beat India’s Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna 7-5 3-6 10-3 in a dramatic final at the O2 Arena to win the title.

Marcel Granollers & Marc Lopez

“We finished here winning the title, so it’s incredible for us. We try to play as best as we can always; I think we have very good relationship. So, I think, that’s one of the key of our success,” said Granollers after the victory. “Marc is one of my best friends. To win here with him is very special. Thanks to the ATP for a great tournament and to Barclays for supporting our sport.”

In their debut as a team at the year-end tournament, Granollers and Lopez – the first Spanish duo to play at the ATP World Tour Finals since Sergio Casal and Emilio Sanchez in 1994 – became the first Spaniards to win the coveted trophy since Juan Gisbert and Manuel Orantes in 1975.

Marc Lopez & Marcel Granollers

“It’s always tough playing them,” said Bhupathi. “They’re not a conventional doubles team. They make it very, very difficult in more ways than one, no matter who they play. We were expecting that. We fought hard to stay in the match. [We] got ourselves again into a match tiebreak. This time I think we just played a bad tiebreak. That sums it up.”

It’s the third title of the year for the Spaniards, seeded sixth out of the eight doubles teams at the ATP World Tour Finals. They also won in Rome and Gstaad.

The pair, who ends the season with a career-high ranking of No. 6 in the world, will next compete for Spain in next week’s Davis Cup final against the Czech Republic in Prague.

González Makes a Strong Showing at the French Open

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He may not have raised the championship trophy at the French Open, but Santiago González still has plenty of reason to be proud of his performance at Roland Garros.

The 29-year-old Mexican tenista and his mixed doubles partner Klaudia Jans-Ignacek—who lost in the finals on Thursday to No. 7 seeds Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi 7-6(3), 6-1—weren’t even expected to make it past the first round.

Santiago Gonzalez at the French Open

González and Jans-Ignacek weren’t ranked coming into the tournament, but defeated No. 8 seeds Nadia Petrova and Daniel Nestor in the first round to lay down a marker.

And the unheralded pairing looked like they would continue their Parisian fairy-tale right through to the title when they broke Mirza’s first service game to lead 2-0. But Gonzalez could not serve out the first set at 5-4, allowing the Indian team to get back on serve. The set would end in a tie-break, with Mirza and Bhupathi winning it 7-3.

Santiago Gonzalez at the French Open

In the second set, it seemed like the magic was gone with Bhupathi and Mirza cruising to two breaks and winning 6-1.

For González—who won a gold medal in mixed doubles at last year’s Pan American Games in Guadalajara—it was his best showing at a Grand Slam tournament, besting his previous-best showing at this year’s Australian Open.