ATP Player's Party during Dubai Dutyfree Tennis Championships.

Stan Wawrinka claims Dubai Tennis Championship crown

The Swiss triumphed 6-4 7-6 (15-13) for his ninth straight final win and his second title of the season.

The French Open champion, 30, saved five set points in a tense tie-break and won when a Baghdatis return went wide on a fourth match point.

It was Wawrinka's first time playing the tournament in eight years.

He had reached the final when Nick Kyrgios retired from their semi-final with a back injury.

That had been the first match between the pair since the infamous match in Montreal last August, when on-court microphones recorded Kyrgios making a lewd suggestion about Wawrinka's girlfriend.

The Australian, who later apologised for the remarks, was given a fine and a 28-day ban, suspended for six months by the ATP, which came to an end on Wednesday.

Djokovic on injured Federer :'I hope he recovers fast'

        The ATP tournament in Dubai this week just doesn’t feel the same with Roger Federer.

The 17-time Grand Slam champion, who has won this tournament seven times, is currently out after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery. It’s unclear when he’ll return to the tour.

Dubai still has plenty of juice with Novak Djokovic participating. He’s playing his first tournament since capturing his sixth Australian Open title in January.

After defeating Tommy Robredo, 6-1, 6-2, in the first round on Monday, the world No. 1 wished Federer a speedy recovery.

“I’m not pleased to hear what happened to him,” Djokovic told Sport 360°. “I hope he recovers fast, because we are not used to seeing him injured. He’s very fit, and he plays very well throughout the entire year. He’s very important for our sport. He’s [the] most successful player of this tournament.

“So for sure the tournament will miss him. Again, that doesn’t change much in the way I approach this tournament. I will try to go as far as I can, you know, even with him not playing here.”
Djokovic, like Federer, has had plenty of success in Dubai in his career. The Serb was the last man standing at the event from 2009-11, and he won the title again in 2013.

Federer defeated Djokovic in the Dubai final last year, and topped him in the semifinals the year prior.

Djokovic will play Tunisian wild card Malek Jaziri in the second round. A victory over Jaziri will give the 11-time Grand Slam champion the 700th singles victory of his career.

source:http://www.tennis.com/

Sania Mirza inspires students at DPS - Modern Indian School.

For around 1,000 students of DPS-Modern Indian School, Monday morning would forever be etched as a fond memory of a day that spurred something inside them. Tennis superstar Sania Mirza paid a whistle-stop visit to the school, feeding young bright minds with a powerful surge of inspiration.
At the sprawling DPS-MIS auditorium, Mirza, who is currently ranked No. 1 in the women’s tennis doubles rankings, sent the whole of DPS-MIS fraternity agog with excitement. Clad in cheery sports gear, the Indian tennis star was welcomed by the school’s top officials, the junior school prefectorial body, and the school’s tennis players, as young as those from Grades 3 and 4 as well.
To mark such a momentous occasion of Mirza’s visit, the event was graced by the members of Qatar Tennis Federation, DPS-MIS President Hassan Chougule and members of the executive committee. Asna Nafees, the school’s principal, in her welcome address, expressed her gratitude towards Mirza for her “valuable presence” and pointed out that she is an inspiration for everybody. Speaking about her achievements, Nafees said that they are a testimony of Mirza’s “grit, determination, and will power.”
A memento was presented to Mirza by the DPS-MIS management and President Hassan Chougule. Just to clue the students in on her achievements, a short video compiled on the Padma Bhushan awardee was screened. Last month, Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis, dubbed “Santina,” won the Australian Open doubles title and their 36th straight match.
After expressing her gratitude towards the school’s management for hosting the reception, Mirza seemed to have no trouble catching the pulse of the students. As she ran a tight schedule, the wide-eyed students from Grade 5 and Grade 8 hung on to every word she spoke. She, too, seemed elated about meeting young students as she recalled her childhood memories when she, after being encouraged by her headmistress, switched from being just a bookworm to taking up tennis so as to pursue a more holistic career path.
Mirza urged parents and schools to let their kids follow their dreams and provide support to make those dreams a reality. She encouraged students to not get bogged down by dissuasion and continue to follow their goals, as long as it takes.
As students asked questions, Mirza answered them with poise, inspiring them to aspire for their goals with persistence, commitment and dedication. On being asked what was the biggest challenge she had faced and how she overcame it, Mirza said that when she started out 23 years ago, in Hyderabad, there were no facilities to practice. Yet, she persevered and made it happen.
Dreaming to be a tennis player in a small city with limited opportunities was the toughest task for her, Mirza said, but it was her love for the game and her parents’ and teachers’ motivation which led her on the path of success.
“It was my school that believed in me,” she said, “I thank my school’s principal, headmistress, teachers, as they made me believe in my abilities and talent. Back then though, sport was never looked at as a career. Things have changed immensely today. It’s a great opportunity now to take it up as a career and represent your nation.”
Referring to how choosing tennis as a career didn’t cut favour back then, Mirza said she would be asked how she would fetch good grooms if she continued playing. A vital piece of advice she offered to the young students was to ensure that they completed at least basic formal education as that would greatly help deal with the eventual success that their sporting career would bring.
Nafees told Community, “Sania is a young achiever and an icon that India would like to put forward to the new generation as a role model. The young generation is more likely to be inspired by young achievers, and Sania’s, as a young Indian woman, is a success story against all odds. Following her visit to our school, even if one child takes up sports as a career, it will please us immensely.”
In fact, that’s also what Mirza had to say when a student asked her what would be the “ultimate achievement” for her. More women must come out and play sports and more children must choose sports as a career, and if she could inspire them to do so, she would have succeeded, Mirza said.
Going by the enthusiastic response of the students, she sure seemed to have succeeded at DPS-MIS.

source:http://www.gulf-times.com/

Novak Djokovic dispatches Tommy Robredo with ease on return to tennis .

Playing his first match since winning the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic beat Tommy Robredo of Spain 6-1, 6-2 in the first round of the Dubai Tennis Championships on Monday.
Djokovic’s victory brought him one match away from his 700th career singles win.
“Every milestone is very special, of course,” Djokovic said. “I wish that I make the 700th win in this tournament, obviously.”
Djokovic, a four-time champion in Dubai, took three weeks off after beating Andy Murray in the Australian Open final for his 11th Grand Slam title.
Against Robredo, he didn’t face a break point.
“I didn’t know how I’m going to start, whether or not I’m going to execute the game plan as I prepared,” Djokovic said.
“But everything went well.”
His next opponent will be Tunisian wild card Malek Jaziri, who won his first match of the year, beating Russian qualifier Mikhail Youzhny 6-4, 6-1.
Sixth-seeded Feliciano Lopez of Spain won his 400th career match, beating Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.
Lopez, the oldest player in the draw at 34, is playing in Dubai for the 10th time.
He reached the final in 2004 and 2008.
“I’m very happy, first of all, because 400 wins is a good number,” Lopez said. “It’s been a long time since I started playing tennis, and I’m very happy I have been able to achieve this number. It means that I was also very lucky in terms of I didn’t have injuries during my career.”
Also, fifth-seeded Viktor Troicki of Serbia was the first seed to fall in losing to Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus 7-6 (2), 6-2. Baghdatis holds a 4-1 career edge over Troicki.

Source: http://indianexpress.com

Sania Mirza-Martina Hingis won St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.

Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis picked up their fourth title of 2016, as they beat Vera Dushevina and Barbora Krejcikova in the final of St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.

Indian tennis star Sania Mirza and her Swiss partner Martina Hingis triumphed in the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy to extend their winning streak to 40 matches in St. Petersburg. 

The top seeded Indo-Swiss pair registered a comfortable 6-3, 6-1 victory over the Russian-Czech team of Vera Dushevina and Barbora Krejcikova in the women's doubles final that lasted for an hour.

This is the fourth title that Sania and Hingis have won this year. Their overall trophy count stands at 13. They started the year with wins in Brisbane and Sydney before completing a hat-trick of Grand Slam titles at the Australian Open.

Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza visit State Russain Museum.

Caroline Wozniacki cross the one million followers mark in Twitter.

There are only five active WTA players to reach 1 million Twitter followers:

1. Serena Williams - 6.07 million
2. Sania Mirza - 3.4 million
3. Maria Sharapova - 1.98 million
4. Venus Williams - 1.37 million
5. Caroline Wozniacki - 1 million

Sharapova Out Of Qatar Total Open .

World No.6 and two-time Doha champion Maria Sharapova announced her withdrawal from the Qatar Total Open due to the left forearm injury she has struggled with since the beginning of the season.

"Unfortunately, I will not be able to play the Qatar Total Open because of my left forearm injury," Sharapova said in a statement. "I would like to wish the tournament and all the great fans in Doha a great week of tennis and I hope to see them next year."

The Russian was forced to pull out of the Brisbane International back in January due to this same injury, but appeared to rebound in Melbourne, reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open before falling to World No.1, Serena Williams.

"I'm going to go and take care of my forearm first," Sharapova said after the loss, aware of the importance this season - being an Olympic year - presents. "I think that's really important. I think this will be a time to just get myself ready for a long year.

"I don't see myself playing anything before Indian Wells."
source:http://www.wtatennis.com/

Dutch stun Russia in Fed Cup tennis.

Last year's finalists Russia have suffered a surprise first-round defeat in the Fed Cup to the Netherlands who have taken an unassailable 3-0 lead.

With Russian No.1 Maria Sharapova only scheduled to play the final doubles rubber because of a shoulder injury, Russia had suffered two losses on the opening day before Kiki Bertens secured the win for the Dutch in Sunday's first rubber, beating Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1 6-4.

Kuznetsova had come into her encounter with Bertens tired from a four-hour marathon loss to Richel Hogenkamp on Saturday, the longest rubber in Fed Cup history.

The Dutch, without a player ranked in the top 100, had been considered major underdogs against a Russian team whose lowest-ranked player Daria Kasatkina is No.61 in the world.

Maria Sharapova to play doubles in Fed Cup against Netherlands.

Maria Sharapova was passed over for the singles and is scheduled to play doubles for Russia against the Netherlands in their Fed Cup first-round tie starting Saturday.

Sharapova was warned last week by Russian tennis chief Shamil Tarpischev that she must play in the tie if she wants to compete in the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro this year. After losing to Serena Williams in the Australian Open quarterfinals, Sharapova said she would join the Russia team in Moscow but rest a left forearm injury.

But she was picked Friday to play in the doubles, which ends the tie on Sunday. Svetlana Kuznetsova and Ekaterina Makarova were picked to play the singles.

Djokovic takes his 6th Australian Open crown with victory over Andy Murray.

• Andy Murray has now lost five finals in the Australian Open after latest defeat by Novak Djokovic .
• The Serb and World No 1 raced ahead and took the first set 6-1 as Murray struggled in the opening stages .
• Former Wimbledon champion lost the second set 7-5 before losing the third set on a tiebreak 7-3.
• Djokovic wins record-equalling sixth Australian Open title with 6-1, 7-5, 7-6 victory.

Andy Murray almost sprinted out of his post-match press conference to catch a 1am flight out of Melbourne following yet another Australian Open defeat against Novak Djokovic.

While on court, Murray had done his best to delay his departure to get back home to see his heavily pregnant wife Kim Sears, at least after a poor first set from which he could not recover.

The opener took just half an hour but the next two sets spanned two hours and 23 minutes before the Scot went down 6-1, 7-5, 7-6 to the world No 1.

German takes maiden major singles title after denying world No.1 a seventh Australian crown

Angelique Kerber walked onto Rod Laver Arena on Saturday night as a first-time Grand Slam finalist. She walked off as the Australian Open 2016 champion, cradling the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup after producing the performance of her life to beat defending champion Serena Williams 6-4 3-6 6-4.

Last year, Kerber lost in the first round at Melbourne Park. This year, she came back from match point down at the same stage, stunned two-time former champion Victoria Azarenka in the quarterfinals, then avoided a comedown against surprise semifinalist Johanna Konta. But the German saved her best for last, handing 21-time Grand Slam champion Williams just her fifth final defeat, and first in three sets.

The leftie left nothing out there – angles, passes, scrambles to all corners of the court and two nerveless drop shot winners propelled Kerber to her first Grand Slam title against the six-time and defending champion. Williams was not at her best – she hit six double faults, struggled with her forehand and gave up 17 of 32 points at the net – but the world No.1 has so often found a way in spite of herself when it matters.