CHENNAI: It was yet another retirement, but the crowd was not complaining. When Vasek Pospisil trudged back to the locker room after conceding his semi-final match, the centre court crowd gave the Canadian a standing ovation for battling through pain to stay in the contest for almost two hours before calling it quits.
As a result, top seed Stanislas Wawrinka inched closer to regaining the Chennai Open title that he last won in 2011. The Swiss world no. 8, who had won the first set (6-4) convincingly, was kept on his toes in the second before Pospisil, who seemed to have a back problem, initiated the handshake.
Wawrinka will meet journeyman Edouard Roger-Vasselin in the final to be held on Sunday evening. It was billed as the clash of flamboyant backhand versus booming serve.
While Wawrinka displayed his stylish backhand to unleash winners, the tall Canadian’s most potent weapon deserted him for a large part of the contest. Pospisil’s forehands were ferocious, but not consistent enough to trouble his in-form rival.
Pospisil, who advanced to the semi-final without being broken this week, suffered his first service break in the fifth game as Wawrinka sneaked ahead 3-2 the first set before pocketing it convincingly.
Pospisil also struggled with his court movement and took two medical timeouts to treat his sore back. Pospisil committed a doublefault as Wawrinka raced ahead with a break in the seventh game, but he was broken immediately.
Earlier, Vasselin scripted a hard-fought 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 win over Marcel Granollers of Spain in a contest that lasted for two hours.
After forcing the decider, Granollers was up a break (2-0) and looked set to run away with the match, but Vasselin had different plans. Mixing up his shots, Vasselin made a conscious effort to wear out his opponent who came into the semis after a energy-sapping three-setter. The ploy did payoff as Vasselin earned two breaks and went on to clinch the match after a two-hour battle.
“He was very aggressive from the start and I couldn’t play my best tennis as I was tired as a result of a late match on Friday night,” said Granollers who had as many as 11 break point opportunities and converting only two of them.
Vasselin who is in search of his first ATP Tour title will prove to be a tough opponent for Wawrinka. When the two met on Tour last time, the Frenchman pulled off an upset at Basel.
Results (SFs): Edouard Roger-Vasselin (Fra) bt Marcel Granollers (Spa) 6-2, 4-6, 6-3. Stanislas Wawrinka (Sui) bt Vasek Pospisil (Can) 6-4, 5-5 (retired).
Vasselin inches closer to his goal
Vasselin inches closer to his goal
DC/ Hari Kishore M
CHENNAI: Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France put out Spaniard Marcel Granollers 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 on Saturday to enter the final of the Chennai Open. This is Vasselin’s second ATP final. After losing his first in the Delray Beach International in March 2013, Vasselin’s target for this season is to win at least one title and he is not too far away from his goal.
Vasselin said playing a final is a different ball game. “It is always tough. You can see the trophy that you are playing for next to the chair umpire and it will be at the back of your mind,” he said. “I will play my game. My opponent will be ranked higher than me. My first aim is to enjoy myself out there. I hope I can pull it off,” he added.
The world number 52 fought very hard to get past a determined Granollers. “I couldn’t have done anything better. It is a great start to the year. It is never easy because every player is good these days. I knew his playing style. I was confident that I could turn the match my way even if I made a mistake,” he said.
Vasselin admitted that his compatriot Benoit Paire’s match on Friday was at the back of his mind throughout. “I was thinking about Benoit. I did not want to become the second French player to lose a match after leading in the third set. I am glad I won,” he added.
Vasselin is also adept at doubles. Ranked 17, he wants to win a Grand Slam this year. “I am playing well in doubles and I hope to breach the top 10,” he said.
Ramkumar under AirAsia radar
Ramkumar under AirAsia radar
DC/ C. SANTHOSH KUMAR
Chennai: AirAsia’s India CEO Mittu Chandilya and the Chennai Open tennis tournament have an “emotional connection”. The former junior level tennis player and a trainee of Ramesh Krishnan didn’t hesitate when the opportunity of being associated with the country’s only ATP event came to him.
“At Krishnans Tennis Centre, I played a practice match with Boris Becker when he was here for the Chennai Open in 1998. I also had opportunities to interact with Richard Krajicek and Patrick Rafter. So it’s a special feeling to be a part of the event now,” said the Chennai-born Chandilya who moved to the US for higher education on a tennis scholarship.
Chennai is set to be the base of soon-to-be launched AirAsia India and Chandilya says it makes sense for his companies to focus on sporting activities in the city. AirAsia boss Tony Fernandez is a sports lover and he already runs a Formula One team, MotoGP team and a holds a major stake in football club Queens Park Rangers.
Chandilya, model-turned-business honcho, hinted at the possibility of supporting Chennai youngsters Ramkumar Ramanathan (tennis) and Sarath Kumar (bike racer). “I think Ramkumar’s progress as a qualifier was impressive.
“I recently met Sarath and he is an exciting talent, too. We have been keeping an eye on various sportspersons in Chennai. We are surely not looking at cricket which is quite a saturated market. We recently sponsored a blind football team and our goal of buying an I-league team is on course,” said Chandilya.
Chandilya said AirAsia’s plan of buying an I-league team may take a while as the group want to ensure they have a strong grassroots programme in place for nurturing talent. “I would like to see the sport grow along with the partnership.
“The I-league organisers have been supportive and the ball is actually in our court now. We are also looking to balance it with the airline’s India launch,” he added.
Wawrinka Army
Wawrinka Army
DC/ Hari Kishore M
Just like the ‘Barmy Army’, the Chennai Open, too, has its share of a spectator army. Nicknamed ‘Wawrinka Army’, school kids from PSBB along with Capt. Venkat Rajaram of the Indian Navy have made the SDAT Stadium their home on match days to cheer for the top seed.
This army is the most vociferous when Wawrinka is playing and support the underdog if the Swiss is not playing. “If you do not shout in the stadium, there is no excitement at all. We have been shouting and cheering the players for several years now and we will be back next year too,” says Rajaram. The army occupies the same seats in the same gallery every year.
‘Time running out for Fedex’
One cannot miss Vijay Amritraj on the sidelines of the Chennai Open. A great personality with impeccable English and an infectious smile, the Indian tennis legend lends colour and gravitas to the ATP event. Can Roger Federer win another Slam?
“He can but time is running out for him. The Swiss, has had an amazing career, is past his prime. He can win another Grand Slam but time is running out for him. You can never write off the champion but the competition has tightened,” said Amritraj. He added that age is not a concern for Federer as he cited the example of Pete Sampras winning the US Open when he was 31 years old.
Faces from the crowd
Two friends from Karnataka have made Chennai their temporary home for educational reasons. The tennis buffs couldn’t give the ATP event in the city a miss. They made their Chennai Open debut on Saturday and both were unanimous that the experience was awesome.
l Who are they?
S. Harshita and S. Sahana.
l How old are they? Harshita is 21 years old and Sahana 20.
l Where are they from? Mysore.
l What are they doing? Doing CA at the ICAI.
l Who are they rooting for?
While Harshita is supporting Stanislas Wawrinka, Sahana wants Edouard Roger-Vasselin to win.
l What do they like in the stadium? They cannot take their eyes off the action. Mingling with fellow tennis fans is memorable for both. A Wawrinka vs Vasselin final will sure test their friendship.
Open line umpires live up to the challenge
Open line umpires live up to the challenge
DC/ C. SANTHOSH KUMAR
Chennai: Since Hawk-Eye technology — a tracking system that sees whether a ball lands inside, outside or partly on the line — made its debut at the Chennai Open tennis tournament in 2011, there has been a marked improvement in the performances of the officials, and the electronic review statistics at the ongoing edition are a testament to this fact.
Numbers reveal that line umpires have got 73 per cent of the calls spot-on in the 19th edition of the ATP event. At the end of the quarter-final stage on Friday, players have made 80 challenges in 18 centre court matches with only 23 of them being successful. In a match, a player gets three unsuccessful challenges per set, with an additional challenge if the set reaches a tiebreak.
Tournament top seed Stanislas Wawrinka didn’t challenge any calls in his first two matches, while local boy Ramkumar asked for the most number of referrals till Friday. Of his 10 challenges, Ramkumar managed to win only two. Frenchman Benoit Paire, Canadian Vasek Pospisil and Spaniard Guillermo Garcia Lopez were the other frequent users of the technology.
“The statistics clearly illustrates the quality of our line umpires. The Hawk-Eye is a boon for players as well as officials. As the line calls come under immediate scrutiny of the technology, umpires are putting in an extra effort to avoid embarrassment,” said former ITF whit badge umpire P. Narasimhan.
Once a call gets upheld after being referred by the technology, the line umpire gets a psychological boost, according to Narasimhan. “There has also been a healthy rivalry among the umpires over who get the clean chit from the technology.”
There are 48 line umpires at work in the ongoing edition with a majority of them from Tamil Nadu. Chennai’s Saravanan Paulraj,who has been officiating in Chennai since 2003, likes his calls being challenged often as he believes it helps him improve his accuracy.
“If the difference is a few millimetres, I don’t worry about it. Throughout the year, I officiate in various ITF events to sharpen my ball sense,” said Saravanan.
Paes to skip Davis Cup, Asian Games
Paes to skip Davis Cup, Asian Games
DC Correspondent
New Delhi: After proudly wearing the Indian colours for over two decades, age is perhaps getting the better of Leander Paes.
The veteran tennis star, who has been a constant fixture in almost every Indian squad since representing the country at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, has decided to skip national duty this year after getting the All India Tennis Association’s nod to take a break for spending more time with his family.
The decision meant that the 40-year-old will not be available for the upcoming Davis Cup tie against Chinese Taipei later this month, the ties after that and the 2014 Asian Games.
The Aita stated that it had no hesitation in granting Paes the break due to his dedication to the national cause for the past 20 years.
“The Aita received a communication from Dr Vece Paes (Leander’s father) on the 2nd January 2014 who after consultations with Mr Anil Khanna shared Leander Paes’ reasons to excuse himself from the forthcoming Davis Cup tie against Chinese Taipei, scheduled to be held in Indore from the 31st January,” the Aita said in a statement.
“Considering the magnanimous contribution Leander Paes has made to Indian tennis for the past two decades and completely empathising with his need to spend time with his family, the Aita has taken a decision to respect the wishes communicated by Leander,” it added.
The Aita hoped that youngsters would rise to the challenge and do their best to fill the vacuum which would be created by Paes’ absence.
Somdev advances in qualifiers
Somdev advances in qualifiers
PTI
Sydney: Somdev Devvarman recovered from his shock Chennai Open defeat against little-known compatriot Ramkumar Ramanathan to edge past Belgium’s Niel Desein in a tight opening round of the ATP Apia International qualifiers on Saturday.
India’s top singles player, ranked 90th in the world, overcame the challenge of his 199th-ranked opponent 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 in one hour and 43 minutes. His next rival is Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff, who dumped top seed Mikhail Kukushkin 7-6 (6), 6-2. Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna are competing in the doubles main draw.
Paes and his Czech partner Radek Stepanek have been seeded second and their first round opponents are Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin from France. Bopanna and partner Aisam-ul-haq Qureshi are seeded third and they will open their campaign against Dutch player Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau from Romania.
Junior tennis tournament
Junior tennis tournament
Krishnan tennis centre will conduct the Hindu junior tennis tournament from January 20 to 25. This is a TNTA ranking event. Entries close on January 13. For details contact: 94447 84704.
State level basketball tourney
The third state level inter-school basketball tournament for U-14 boys will be held from January 29 to 31 at St. Joseph’s HSS, Chengalpattu. Last date for entries is January 20.
Saveetha trophy 2014
Saveetha Engineering College will conduct a state level inter-school and engineering college tournament in various disciplines for both boys and girls from January 28 to February 5 at their campus in Thandalam. For details contact: 98655 86221; 86084 16919.
Record for Rochelle
Chennai girl Rochelle Maria Macfarlane on Saturday obliterated her own triple jump record at the Republic Day state level sports meet in Coimbatore. The St. Columbans student cleared 12.57m.
FCI sports quota recruitment
Food Corporation of India, South Zone, invites applications for vacancies in the following disciplines: football (2), athletics (1), table tennis (1), badminton (1) and weightlifting (1). The last date for receipt of applications is January 27. For details, contact www.fciweb.nic.in and refer Employment News dated January 1.
TN throwball team announced
K. Ulaganathan has been named the captain of the Tamil Nadu men’s throwball team to take part in the 36th senior national championship at Delhi from January 8 to 11.
The squad: Men: K. Ulaganathan (captain), J.B. Jegan Francis, K. Selvam, K. Sai Siddharth, V. Selvam, J.R. Jeffrin Marshall, J.B. Jerry Leonard, M. Luqmaan Kasim, Roshan B Joseph, R. Karthik, S. Karthik, T. Boobalan, K. Kaviyarasu, D. Kamalesh. Coach: Basker. Women: Manasa Meenakshi (captain), R. Prithipa, S. Sindu Kavi, S. Koperundevi, T.G. Manoranjitham, K. Ashmitha Devi, G. Archana, V. Harinee, M. Harshini, M. Pavithra, J. Shrine, S. Roshene, M. Aruna Priyanka, S. Jayasankari. Coach: Thirupathy.
