Brinklow bows to Bopanna

PUNE, OCT 25: Matching strong serves to verbal volleys, Aussie Blake Brinklow tried everything to stave off Indian wild card Rohan Bopann...

PUNE, OCT 25: Matching strong serves to verbal volleys, Aussie Blake Brinklow tried everything to stave off Indian wild card Rohan Bopanna, but to no avail.

Brinklow8217;s tactics and gamesmanship failed to ruffle the Indian or the chair umpire but it did blot his image and prospects in the tournament which came to an unceremonious end in the first round of the ITF Satellite Tennis Circuit second leg which got under way at the Deccan Gymkhana courts today.

Bopanna won 4-6, 7-6 1, 6-4 to make progress in the 6,250 event drawing cheers from a sizeable gathering.

Tantrums, derogatory remarks, swears and frequent racquet abuse added an unpleasant tinge to the atmosphere 8212; although there were many in the crowd who saw a lighter side to the two hour, 20 minute encounter.

Brinklow, ranked 108, started his campaign on a sound note, coming back from 1-3 down to take the set 6-4. But it was at 4-all second set when the Australian started loosing his grip on the match and subsequently his racquet as his tonguetook over.

The player from Down Under turned vocal as Bopanna staved off four break points to hold serve at this juncture. By contrast, Bopanna could have wrapped the match early but the Indian played too tentatively when it came to the crucial points.

The 19-year-old Bopanna8217;s temperament held him in good stead as the Pune player levelled set scores by cruising to 7-1 in the second set tie-breaker before clinching the third set and match 6-4.

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Nitin Kirtane 828 had no problem in squeezing out Sunil Kumar 8212; the new National hardcourt champion 8212; 6-1, 6-1 in 55 minutes. The Indian Davis Cup reserve Vijay Kannan 826 ousted sixth seed Vinod Sridhar 693 in a marathon three setter 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 8 while another wild card Manoj Mahadevan lost to fifth seed Tom Chicoine USA 3-6, 1-6.

RESULTS
seedings in prefix, country, ranking

Singles first round: 5-Tom Chicoine USA, 500 bt Manoj Mahadevan Ind, 1305 6-3, 6-1; Vijay Kannan Ind, 827 bt 6-Vinod Sridhar Ind, 6982-6, 6-3, 7-6 10-8; Nitin Kirtane Ind, 828 bt Sunil Kumar Ind 6-1, 6-1; Rohan Bopanna Ind, 1225 bt Blake Brinklow Aus, 1028 6-4, 6-7 1, 6-4.

Doubles first round: 4-Mustafa Ghouse/Vishal Uppal Ind, 1261 bt Sunil Kumar/Akshay Vishal Rao Ind 6-1, 7-6; Prahlad Srinath/Vasudeva Reddy Ind, 1443 bt Josef Nesticky/Radim Zitko Cze, 1786 6-3, 6-1; Saurav Panja/Anand Radhakrishna Ind, 2208 bt C Mohanty/ Benjamin Zavier Ind 4-6, 6-4, 6-1; Vijay Kannan/Manoj Mahadevan Ind bt Alok Bhide/Kedar Shah Ind 6-3, 7-6; 2-Syed Fazaluddin Ind/Niko Karagiannis Gre, 941 bt Abraham Doug/Harang Lee USA, 2744 6-2, 5-7, 6-3.

Sampras8217; hopes end

STUTTGART: Pete Sampras8217; hopes of finishing the season as world number one for the seventh time in a row virtually disappeared after he pulled out of the Eurocard Op en. The 28-year-old Wimbledon champion was forced out of the tournament which begins today through a shoulder injury.

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His exit cost him 195 ranking points and he now lies 1,100behind Andre Agassi. If top seed Agassi wins in Stuttgart, then the gap between the two would grow far too much for Sampras to realistically make up.

Mauresmo wins

BRATISLAVA SLOVAKIA: Top-seeded Amelie Mauresmo of France won her first WTA Tour title beating Kim Clijsters of Belgium 6-3, 6-3 in the Eurotel Indoor tennis.