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News & Press
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Flavia Pennetta moves to fourth round
defeating Angela Haynes (Q) 4-6 6-4 6-1
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Leander Paes and his partner Lukas Dlouhy open their campaign
In the men's doubles event, India's Leander Paes and Czech Lukas Dlouhy beat unseeded Austrians Julian Knowle and Jurgen Melzer 6-4, 3-6, 10-8 to advance to the second round.
Flavia Pennetta whipped Sania Mirza
Italy's number 12 Flavia Pennetta beat Sania Mirza 6-3, 6-4.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Pennetta, Colavita USA Together Another Year
 LINDEN, NJ, USA - Colavita USA has announced that it is sponsoring Italian tennis star Flavia Pennetta for the second consecutive year. Pennetta, currently ranked 15th in the world on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, is the No.12 seed this fortnight at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. "As the leading brand of Italian extra virgin olive oil in the US, we are thrilled to partner with Italy's No.1 female athlete," said Giovanni Colavita, CEO of Colavita USA. "Flavia triumphed at the US Open last year wearing the Colavita logo, reaching her first-ever Grand Slam quarterfinal. We hope this symbol of her Italian heritage will bring Flavia continued success this season." Born in the seaport city of Brindisi in the Apulia region, Pennetta, 27 years old, began playing tennis when she was five and turned pro in 2000. Last year she played her strongest season to date, winning two singles titles and re-entering the world's Top 20. Already this year she achieved a new career-high ranking of No.11, equalling the highest-ever ranking for an Italian woman (Silvia Farina Elia and Francesca Schiavone have also achieved the feat). "I'm happy to renew my relationship with Colavita," Pennetta said. "Cooking is my favorite activity outside of tennis and authentic Italian extra virgin olive oil is at the top of my list of essential ingredients." Pennetta applauds Colavita's commitment to promoting healthy living through regular physical activity and its consistent support of Italian athletes. Former "Baby" Giro d'Italia winner Davide Frattini of Varese, Italy has been riding with the Colavita/Sutter Home Men's Pro Cycling Team presented by Cooking Light since 2005 and Luca Damiani of Morbegno joined the squad in 2007. Colavita was also proud to partner with Silvia Fontana as she represented Italy in the figure skating competition at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Torino. Family-owned Colavita USA LLC, headquartered in Linden, New Jersey, has been importing and distributing authentic Italian Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil for 30 years. Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil is recognized as the No.1 Italian brand in the US and has earned awards from renowned cooking publications such as Fine Cooking and Cook's Illustrated and general-interest magazines like Men's Health. For more information about Colavita USA, please visit www.colavita.com.
Sunday, March 08, 2009
Marius Copil and Horia Tecau beat veterans Marat Safin and Dmitry Tursunov
SIBIU, Romania, March 7 (UPI) -- An unexpected doubles win Saturday drew Romania within 2-1 of Russia
in the best-of-five Davis Cup battle in Sibiu, Romania.
The tandem of Marius Copil and Horia Tecau beat veterans Marat Safin and Dmitry Tursunov 4-6, 6-7 (2-7), 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 in a marathon four-hour match on the indoor carpet at Sala Transilvania.
Saturday, March 07, 2009
Paes-Bhupathi give India 2-1 lead in Davis Cup
Kaohsiung (Chinese Taipei), March 7 (IANS) Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi beat Tsung-Hua Yang and Chu-Huan Yi to give India a 2-1 lead over Chinese Taipei in their Asia-Oceania Group I Davis Cup tie at the Yang-Ming Tennis Centre here Saturday.
Paes and Bhupathi beat the Taipei pair 6-4, 7-6 (0), 6-7 (2), 6-2 in three-and-a-half hours.
Thursday, March 05, 2009
A lot depends on opening game: Leander Paes
Mumbai: On the eve of India's Davis Cup encounter against hosts Chinese Taipei, Leander Paes is extremely upbeat about making it through to the next round.
The eight-time Grand Slam champion, who appears only in doubles these days, said the weather, conditions and surface, though vastly different than in India, would actually be "conducive" to our chances in the Group I Asia-Oceania Zone tie.
"It's lovely out here," a cheerful Leander told DNA from Kaohsiung, Taiwan, where the team is based for the rubber. "It's bright sunshine... The temperature is around 24 degrees in the morning, though it can get a little hotter in the middle... But the conditions are just right for tennis."
The opening game will see Somdev Devvarman (world rank 150) take on Ti Chen (world No.365) at the Yang-Ming Tennis Centre. From administrators to former Davis Cup captains and for Leander himself, the importance of the opener cannot be overstated. For India to have any hopes of setting up a date with either Australia or Thailand in Round III, they must kick off with a win on Friday.
Chinese Taipei rely heavily on Yen-Hsun Lu, world number 59 and their best player who's hit some terrific form of late, having defeated David Nalbandian in the Australian Open and Lleyton Hewitt in Delray Beach this year. Lu will take on India No.2 Rohan Bopanna in Friday's second singles. Though Bopanna has beaten Lu in the past, it would be a different ball game this time.
"Look, for several years now our strategy has been to win at least two singles among the four... There is no reason why Bopanna can't repeat his feat but even if Lu wins both matches, that leaves us with two more and, of course, doubles is our strength," said Leander.
"Though the surface and crowd support matter a lot and would be against us, I am quite confident of our chances," he said. On Saturday, Leander and Mahesh Bhupathi will join forces against Tsung-Hua Yang and Chu-Huan Yi in the doubles. In the reverse singles on Sunday, Lu will play Devvarman while Chen faces Bopanna.
Former Davis Cup captain Naresh Kumar also felt that the opener would be the decisive factor. "The teams are extremely well-matched. By omitting Lu in the doubles, it would appear that Chinese Taipei are realistic about their chances in doubles and want to keep Lu fresh for the reverse singles. "It'll be a dogfight and an open tie," said Kumar. He didn't think Bopanna's past record against Lu would matter much.
"Though Bopanna plays above his rankings in Davis Cup, he hasn't been playing too many singles in the recent past. It'll be tough for him," said Kumar.
The former captain felt SP Misra's role will be crucial. "The non-playing captain isn't just a manager... He is much, much more. He has to ensure the players get the right kind of diet... That they get the chance to talk to their families back home."
"It's a team effort and if India are to advance, everyone has to pull in the right direction," he said.
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
Pennetta advances in Monterrey
 Monterrey, Mexico (Sports Network) - Third-seeded Italian Flavia Pennetta was among the winners in first-round play Tuesday at the inaugural Monterrey Open women's tennis event. Pennetta cruised past American Jill Craybas 6-1, 6-0, to advance.
Monday, March 02, 2009
Paes moves to No.6 in rankings
 New Delhi, March 02: Indian ace Leander Paes replaced his estranged partner Mahesh Bhupathi at number six position in the ATP doubles rankings. Paes now has 6940 ranking points, just 15 more than seventh placed Bhupathi. Rohan Bopanna moved to 72 with 1705 points after gaining three spots.
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Indian Davis Cup team leaves for Chinese Taipei
New Delhi: Indian Davis Cup team leaves tonight for Chinese Taipei to take on the hosts in the second round tie of the Asia/Oceania Group I, beginning from March 6.
India got a bye in the first round while Chinese Taipei had stunned Kazakhstan in their first round.
It will be a first meeting for the two teams, who are bidding for a place in the final round, the winners of which will qualify for the World Group I play-offs.
Somdev Devvarman and Rohan Bopanna will play in the singles while star pair of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi will take care of doubles challenge.
India non-playing captain Shiv Prakash Misra was confident his team's good show.
"We are going with a positive frame of mind. We have good singles player in Somdev and (Leander) Paes and (Mahesh) Bhupathi are very dangerous pair," Misra told PTI before departure.
"We are a very good Davis Cup team and I am hoping for a favourable result for India," he added.
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