Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna made an ideal start to their Olympic preparations as they sealed a Davis Cup world play-off berth for India, winning the doubles rubber against South Korea in Chandigarh today. 
 
The duo&#39;s win gave India an unassailable 3-0 lead on the grass courts of the Chandigarh Club after the team won both the singles matches of the Asia/Oceania Group I tie. 
 
Paes and Bopanna, who were chosen as a doubles pair by India&#39;s tennis association for the Rio Games, outplayed the Korean pair of Seong Chan Hong and Hong Chung 6-3 6-4 6-4. 
 
Bopanna, who had voiced his displeasure of &quot;not being given a say&quot; in choosing his Olympic partner, insisted he shared a good &quot;on-court chemistry&quot; with Paes. 
 
&quot;Chemistry was great. If it wasn&#39;t good, we could not have got such convincing win. We did not push much and just made sure that we come out strong,&quot; said Bopanna. 
 
The 43-year-old Paes, who is set for his seventh Olympic participation, also enjoyed the doubles win. 
 
&quot;We have won in three sets. We are playing well. It has been a great season for us. We are sharp. 
 
&quot;Even if the competition was tough, we could have raised the level of our game,&quot; Paes, a winner of 18 Grand Slam titles, said. 
 
Earlier India&#39;s Saketh Myneni and Ramkumar Ramanathan had won their respective singles on Friday to hand India a 2-0 cushion. 
 
The reverse singles matches slated for Sunday now remain a mere formality as the Koreans will be playing for pride against an upbeat India. 
 
(AFP)

They gave India a 3-0 lead after the team won both the singles matches of the Asia/Oceania Group I tie

Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna made an ideal start to their Olympic preparations as they sealed a Davis Cup world play-off berth for India, winning the doubles rubber against South Korea in Chandigarh today. The duo's win gave India an unassailable 3-0 lead on the grass courts of the Chandigarh Club after the team won both the singles matches of the Asia/Oceania Group I tie. Paes and Bopanna, who were chosen as a doubles pair by India's tennis association for the Rio Games, outplayed the Korean pair of Seong Chan Hong and Hong Chung 6-3 6-4 6-4. Bopanna, who had voiced his displeasure of "not being given a say" in choosing his Olympic partner, insisted he shared a good "on-court chemistry" with Paes. "Chemistry was great. If it wasn't good, we could not have got such convincing win. We did not push much and just made sure that we come out strong," said Bopanna. The 43-year-old Paes, who is set for his seventh Olympic participation, also enjoyed the doubles win. "We have won in three sets. We are playing well. It has been a great season for us. We are sharp. "Even if the competition was tough, we could have raised the level of our game," Paes, a winner of 18 Grand Slam titles, said. Earlier India's Saketh Myneni and Ramkumar Ramanathan had won their respective singles on Friday to hand India a 2-0 cushion. The reverse singles matches slated for Sunday now remain a mere formality as the Koreans will be playing for pride against an upbeat India. (AFP)

Tennis: Paes, Bopanna seal India's Davis Cup play-off berth

Wimbledon champion Andy Murray says he is unlikely to play in Britain&#39;s Davis Cup quarter-final clash in Serbia this weekend but could travel to Belgrade in support of the team. 
 
Murray, who beat Canadian powerhouse Milos Raonic on Sunday to take his second Wimbledon title, almost single-handedly led Britain to their first Davis Cup triumph since 1936 in last November. 
 
The squad, captained by Leon Smith, also includes Murray&#39;s brother and doubles world number one Jamie, 68th ranked Kyle Edmund, Daniel Evans and doubles specialist Dominic Inglot. 
 
&quot;I spoke to Leon last night at the champions dinner briefly. I&#39;m going to call him after this,&#39; Murray told the BBC today. 
 
&quot;I would say it&#39;s looking unlikely, but even if I don&#39;t play I&#39;m still probably going to go anyway just to be there with the team. But I&#39;m going to speak to him (Leon) this afternoon. He was flying there this morning.&quot; 
 
Murray, who reunited with coach Ivan Lendl last month, is also committed to playing at the 2016 Rio Olympics next month, where he will be the defending champion. 
 
Serbia&#39;s world number one Novak Djokovic is also set to miss the Davis Cup tie after saying he needed to rest following his shock defeat by American Sam Querrey at the All England Club. 
 
(Reuters)

Andy Murray almost single-handedly led Britain to their first Davis Cup triumph since 1936 in last November

Wimbledon champion Andy Murray says he is unlikely to play in Britain's Davis Cup quarter-final clash in Serbia this weekend but could travel to Belgrade in support of the team. Murray, who beat Canadian powerhouse Milos Raonic on Sunday to take his second Wimbledon title, almost single-handedly led Britain to their first Davis Cup triumph since 1936 in last November. The squad, captained by Leon Smith, also includes Murray's brother and doubles world number one Jamie, 68th ranked Kyle Edmund, Daniel Evans and doubles specialist Dominic Inglot. "I spoke to Leon last night at the champions dinner briefly. I'm going to call him after this,' Murray told the BBC today. "I would say it's looking unlikely, but even if I don't play I'm still probably going to go anyway just to be there with the team. But I'm going to speak to him (Leon) this afternoon. He was flying there this morning." Murray, who reunited with coach Ivan Lendl last month, is also committed to playing at the 2016 Rio Olympics next month, where he will be the defending champion. Serbia's world number one Novak Djokovic is also set to miss the Davis Cup tie after saying he needed to rest following his shock defeat by American Sam Querrey at the All England Club. (Reuters)

Murray likely to miss Britain's Davis Cup quarter-final

On court Novak Djokovic is taking tennis to extraordinary new levels with his single-minded obsession with winning. Off it the Serbian is more than happy to share power. 
 
The 29-year-old will begin his attempt to win a fourth Wimbledon title on Monday when he plays British wildcard James Ward on Centre Court,12 months after claiming a second successive title by beating Roger Federer. 
 
While nothing will distract him from that goal, the dominant Serbian also knows that however big the gap is between himself and his rivals and it is a yawning chasm that no player is bigger than the sport. 
 
At his pre-tournament news conference at Wimbledon today, the world number one confirmed he had re-joined the 12-man ATP Players Council, along with chief rival Andy Murray and Murray&#39;s brother Jamie, the world&#39;s top doubles player. 
 
It is a responsibility Djokovic will apply himself to with the same devotion as his career for the next two years as tennis wrestles with the kind of doping and corruption scandals that have afflicted world sport. 
 
&quot;I&#39;ve been very flattered and humbled to be elected by my colleagues,&quot; Djokovic told reporters. 
 
&quot;The way I see it is that I managed to gain trust from players, which is very important to me. I have been part of the Player Council for three years earlier in my career. I`ve been familiar with the way the system works. 
 
&quot;I&#39;m hoping I can contribute to the evolution and to the betterment of our sport in every aspect.&quot; 
 
There is little argument that he has taken tennis to new levels of perfection since losing to Murray in the 2013 final here. 
 
Since then he has won six of the 11 grand slam titles on offer, taking his tally to 12 overall. 
 
In beating Murray at Roland Garros earlier this month he became the first man in 47 years to hold all four majors. 
 
He also won the ATP World Tour Finals in November and will have his eye on Olympic gold in August and probably the Davis Cup too. 
 
His immediate focus though is on a smooth opening to his Wimbledon campaign having chosen again not to play any grasscourt tournaments in the run-up. 
 
&quot;This year is quite different from previous years because I`m coming in with a Roland Garros title,&quot; he said. 
 
&quot;That gives me, obviously, a lot of confidence. I&#39;ve played a lot of points in the practice sessions these four or five days, trying to be on the grass as much as I can. So I`m really keen on getting on the court.&quot; 
 
Djokovic, who beat Federer in the last two Wimbledon finals, could face a tough path to a hat-trick. 
 
Big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic is a potential quarter-final opponent with Federer possible in the semis. 
 
Ward is unlikely to pose too many problems, although Djokovic is well aware that the crowd will be rooting for his opponent when play begins on Monday. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s going to be the first match on the untouched grass,&quot; he said. &quot; That&#39;s probably one of the most special tennis matches that you get to experience as a tennis player. 
 
&quot;I&#39;m looking forward to that. Obviously I know that he doesn`t have much to lose.&quot; 
 
(Reuters)

The 29-year-old will begin his attempt to win a fourth Wimbledon title on Monday when he plays British wildcard James Ward on Centre Court

On court Novak Djokovic is taking tennis to extraordinary new levels with his single-minded obsession with winning. Off it the Serbian is more than happy to share power. The 29-year-old will begin his attempt to win a fourth Wimbledon title on Monday when he plays British wildcard James Ward on Centre Court,12 months after claiming a second successive title by beating Roger Federer. While nothing will distract him from that goal, the dominant Serbian also knows that however big the gap is between himself and his rivals and it is a yawning chasm that no player is bigger than the sport. At his pre-tournament news conference at Wimbledon today, the world number one confirmed he had re-joined the 12-man ATP Players Council, along with chief rival Andy Murray and Murray's brother Jamie, the world's top doubles player. It is a responsibility Djokovic will apply himself to with the same devotion as his career for the next two years as tennis wrestles with the kind of doping and corruption scandals that have afflicted world sport. "I've been very flattered and humbled to be elected by my colleagues," Djokovic told reporters. "The way I see it is that I managed to gain trust from players, which is very important to me. I have been part of the Player Council for three years earlier in my career. I`ve been familiar with the way the system works. "I'm hoping I can contribute to the evolution and to the betterment of our sport in every aspect." There is little argument that he has taken tennis to new levels of perfection since losing to Murray in the 2013 final here. Since then he has won six of the 11 grand slam titles on offer, taking his tally to 12 overall. In beating Murray at Roland Garros earlier this month he became the first man in 47 years to hold all four majors. He also won the ATP World Tour Finals in November and will have his eye on Olympic gold in August and probably the Davis Cup too. His immediate focus though is on a smooth opening to his Wimbledon campaign having chosen again not to play any grasscourt tournaments in the run-up. "This year is quite different from previous years because I`m coming in with a Roland Garros title," he said. "That gives me, obviously, a lot of confidence. I've played a lot of points in the practice sessions these four or five days, trying to be on the grass as much as I can. So I`m really keen on getting on the court." Djokovic, who beat Federer in the last two Wimbledon finals, could face a tough path to a hat-trick. Big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic is a potential quarter-final opponent with Federer possible in the semis. Ward is unlikely to pose too many problems, although Djokovic is well aware that the crowd will be rooting for his opponent when play begins on Monday. "It's going to be the first match on the untouched grass," he said. " That's probably one of the most special tennis matches that you get to experience as a tennis player. "I'm looking forward to that. Obviously I know that he doesn`t have much to lose." (Reuters)

Djokovic focused on Wimbledon but sees bigger picture

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Tennis: Paes, Bopanna seal India's Davis Cup play-off berth

Murray likely to miss Britain's Davis Cup quarter-final

Djokovic focused on Wimbledon but sees bigger picture