Sindhu loses to Okuhara; Srikanth, Prannoy enter quarters

New Delhi, Jan 18: There was not much rustiness but just the initial nervousness, which a “pleasantly surprised” Sania Mirza shook off to win a title in her first tournament in 27 months, capping off her comeback from a maternity leave in style.

Partnering Ukraine's Nadiia Kichenov, the trailblazing Indian tennis player annexed the Hobart International trophy with a straight sets win over second seed Chinese pair of Shuai Peng and Shuai Zhang.

She worked hard to get into shape but the way she moved, it seemed Sania was never away from the courts.

“It's something I did not expect totally, so to say, but I am excited to be able to do this in my first tournament on comeback," Sania told PTI in an exclusive interview from Melbourne.

“I honestly thought I would be a bit more rustier than I was. I was pleasantly surprised that I was not. But there are things I can improve and that is what makes a champion. You always want to get better in what you are doing, no matter how well you do."

The 33-year-old winner of six Grand Slam titles said she played without pressure, and insisted there was no secret to the swift success on comeback.

“There is no key, I wish I knew, there was one key to winning. I just enjoyed my game. You have to work hard, play your game. I was playing with a new partner, new gear after two-and-a-half years. There was no pressure and no expectations.

"The first match was the only one when I felt a bit nervous because I did not know how my body would react and how I would play. That match was difficult but it set the tone and momentum. I was happy to come though that one and after that things kept getting better and better," she said.

Sania said her body has certainly changed after giving birth to son Izhaan but she did not have to tweak her post-match recovery process much.

“It does change. I was dealing with a calf injury, from last month and I aggravated a bit today. I am still icing it as we speak but it should not be serious.

“The body is a lot different now. It recovers different. But recovery (process) has not changed so much, it's similar."

Asked if she could go for her shots as she was doing before the break, she said, “I was able to do enough, I can improve, no matter how I play."

"My serve was decent but I can improve. I the first match I was not serving that well and was not returning well on important points but by the time I was playing the final, I was doing both of those little better. It is a process, it does not happen overnight. It's something will keep working on."

Serena Williams set an example in 2018 when she came out playing highly competitive tennis after giving birth to her daughter Olympia. There are other tennis moms like Victoria Azrenka and Evgeniya Rodina.

Sania said she did not seek any input from tennis moms but their presence on the Tour is inspiring enough.

“I did not speak to anyone but it is inspiring to see so many moms around, playing well in different sports."

Sania will play the Australian Open mixed doubles with compatriot Rohan Bopnna after her original first-choice Rajeev Ram opted out due to health reasons.

Mumbai, May 11: The French Open, which was postponed to September from May due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, could be held without fans, the organisers of the claycourt Grand Slam have said.

Roland Garros had been scheduled for May 24 to June 7 before the French tennis federation (FFT) pushed it back to Sept. 20-Oct 4 in a bid to save the tournament from falling victim to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last week the FFT said all tickets purchased for this year's French Open would be cancelled and reimbursed instead of being transferred.

"Organising it without fans would allow a part of the economy to keep turning, (like) television rights and partnerships. It's not to be overlooked," FFT President Bernard Giudicelli told French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche.

"We're not ruling any option out."

The tennis season was suspended in early March due to the pandemic and the hiatus will continue at least until mid-July with many countries in lockdown.

Wimbledon has been cancelled while the status of the U.S. Open, scheduled to take place in late August, is still unclear.

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The FFT was widely criticised when they announced in mid-March that the French Open would be switched, with players bemoaning a lack of communication as the new dates clashed with the hardcourt season.

Organisers said last week they had been in talks with the sport's governing bodies to fine tune the calendar amid media reports that the Grand Slam tournament would be delayed further by a week and start on Sept. 27.

The delayed start would give players a two-week window between the end of the U.S. Open, played on the hardcourts of New York, and the Paris tournament.

"The 20th or the 27th, that does not change much," Giudicelli said.

New Delhi, May 30: Former world chess champion Viswanathan Anand will be finally reaching India late on Saturday after being stuck in Germany for over three months due to the travel restrictions imposed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Yes.. Anand will be returning today," the chess maestro's wife Aruna told PTI on Saturday morning. Anand, who boarded an Air India flight (AI-120) from Frankfurt on Friday night will reach Bengaluru via Delhi.

He is expected to reach Bengaluru at 1.15 pm. The five-time world champion will undergo 14 days quarantine as per rules laid down by the Karnataka government.

"He will complete quarantine procedures and come to Chennai as per protocol," Aruna Anand said. The flights from Germany are only scheduled to land only in Delhi and Bengaluru.

The chess ace was in Germany to play in the Bundesliga chess league and was to return to India, but was forced to stay put after the COVID-19 outbreak disrupted sporting schedules across the globe, apart from restricting movement.

He was staying near Frankfurt and was doing online commentary for the Candidates tournament which was called off mid-way due to the pandemic and led the Indian team in the Online Nations Cup early this month.

Anand had been in touch with his family in Chennai on a regular basis via video calls and kept himself busy with chess-related work.