By IANS,
New Delhi : The tennis seedings and the draw for the Commonwealth Games make India look good to win quite a few medals. Somdev Devvarman is the top seed in men’s singles and Sania Mirza second in women’s draw. The famed pair of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi have no challengers for the top billing in men’s doubles.
A lot of top players, like former World No.1 Llyeton Hewitt of Australia, World no.4 Scotland’s Andy Murray, World no.18 Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus, chose to stay away from the Games, preferring to fulfil their Tour commitments.
Somdev, ranked 100, should have an easy outing in the first round where he takes on unranked Devin Mullings of Bahamas. Rohan Bopanna, ranked 473, takes on another unranked player Robert Buyinza of Uganda. Bopanna, however, can run into World No. 130 and second seed Peter Luczak of Australia in the second round. Luczak plays Dmitri King Darian of Barbados in his first round.
Australia’s Matt Ebden is seeded third and he meets Patrick Dunstan Ogier of Great Britain.
In women’s singles the top four seeds have been given byes due to fewer entries. Sania, ranked 131, will take on the winner between Maleeha Solih Aminath of Maldives and Britanny Teei of Cook Islands in the second round. Young Poojashree Venkatesha plays Nthabiseng Eunicia Nqosa of Lesotho while 31-year-old Rushmi Chakravarthi takes on another Lesotho girl Pinki Agnes Montlha.
“It, however, could be a tough quarterfinal for Sania, who can face eighth seeded Marina Erakovic. Let us hope for the best,” India’s women’s coach Enrico Piperno told IANS.
Australia’s Anastasia Rodionova is the top seed while England’s Katie Jill O’ Brien is seeded third.
In the men’s doubles, Paes and Bhupathi will take on Sri Lanka’s Ruchika Amresh Jayawickreme and Thangarajah Dineshkanthan. Bopanna and Devvarman, seeded second, face a tough challenge from the Scottish pair Jamie Murray, Andy’s brother, and Colin Fleming.
In the women’s doubles, due to inadequate entries, the top four seeds had to been given a bye while the fifth bye was given to the team chosen randomly. Sania and Rushmi, seeded second, cross swords with the winner of the match between Scotland’s Mhairi Heather Brown and Jocelyn Georgina Elizabeth Rae and Bermuda’s Jacklyn and Tara Lambert in the quarterfinals.
Tennis mom Nirupama Sanjeev and Poojashree play Aminath Maleeha Solih and Amintah Irufa Mahir of Maldives in the first round.
“It was after much thought that we decided that I should pair with Poojashree and not Sania as I have no rankings at the moment and if she would have paired up with me we would have been unseeded. I have no problems with Poojashree and everything is going smoothly. I never had any problem pairing with anyone as my communication is my biggest strength,” Nirupama said.
In the mixed doubles, Sania and Paes are second seeded and open against Saint Lucia’s Stacey Nykita Roheman and Alberton Richelieu. However, it turned out to be a tricky draw for Nirupama and Bopanna who face top seeds Rodionova and Paul Hanley in the first round.
Jaideep Mukherjea, one of the three Indian coaches for the Commonwealth Games preparations, said he is confident of the hosts finishing with at least three-four medals.
“We have a very good chance to win three or four medals. The home conditions are in our favour. Both Somdev and Rohan are in good touch and so are Leander and Mahesh,” Mukherjea told IANS.
The venues were thrown open Thursday for the media, which got a first glimpse of the Indian women’s team of Sania, Rushmi, Poojashree, and Nirupama practising with Piperno. The team practised for nearly two hours. The men’s team is expected to arrive here Friday.