Sania & Rushmi crash out in opening round of women's doubles
Indian women’s doubles pair of Sania Mirza and Rushmi Chakarvarthi were knocked out of the tennis competition of the 2012 London Olympics by Chia-Jung Chuang and Su-Wei Hsieh of Chinese Taipei in the opening round here on Saturday.
The Indian pair battled hard but were finally defeated 1-6,u00a06-3, 1-6 in 91 minutes at the Wimbledon grass court.
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Sania Mirza (left) and Rushmi Chakarvarthi during their women’s double tie on Saturday. PIC/AFP
The first set was a washout for the Indians as they managed just eight winners compared to Taipei pair’s 19.
Sania and Rushmi fought back well in the second set, even though they hit less winners. They converted both the break points on offer.
The third set again was a let down for the Indians as they failed to carry forward the momentum from the previous set and were completely blown away in the decider.
Vishnu to play singles
Indian tennis player Vishnu Vardhan yesterday got a lucky place in the men’s singles draw replacing German Philipp Kohlschreiber who pulled out of the Olympics with a hamstring injury.
Kohlschreiber pulled out shortly after losing the Kitsbuhel final to Dutchman Robin Haase in Austria on Saturday.
Vardhan, who is partnering Leander Paes in the men’s doubles, was given a slot in the singles draw because he was placed high in the doubles draw.
The 25-year-old Indian will face Slovenia’s Blaz Kavcic in the first round, before joining 1996 Bronze medallist Leander Paes to play the men’s doubles.
Vardhan was lucky to find a place in the Indian Olympic tennis squad after Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna revolted against the All India Tennis Association’s (AITA) decision to pair them with Paes.
All over for Somdev
India’s wildcard entrant of Olympic tennis after he lost his first round match of the men’s singles to Finland’s Jarko Nieminen in a rain affected encounter at the Wimbledon here yesterday. The 27-year-old Somdev went down 3-6, 1-6 to Nieminen in a match that lasted 72 minutes. It was an unimpressive performance by Somdev as he committed three double faults and 21 unforced errors.
The Indian could convert only two of break points and won 41 points as compared to 65 by his opponent.
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