Davydenko heads Chennai Open field

Tuesday, December 2, 2008 (Chennai)
World No. 5 Nikolay Davydenko of Russia will head a strong field in the $450,000 ATP Chennai Open Tennis tournament to be held here in Chennai from Jan 5-11.

Davydenko who ended the year on a high, reaching the finals of the Masters in Shanghai, is joined by World No. 13 Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland, who won the 2008 Beijing Olympics Gold medal in doubles partnering Roger Federer.

Also in the draw are: World No. 23 Marin Cilic (Croatia), Ivo Karlovic (Croatia, No.26), Wimbledon semi-finalist Rainer Schuettler (Germany, No.33), former Chennai Open champion Carlos Moya (Spain, No.42), and Ivan Ljubicic (Croatia, No.44) who incidentally stopped Moya from winning a hat-trick of titles in 2006.

Other well-known players include Janko Tipsarevic ( Serbia, No. 49), Marcel Granollers (Spain, No. 56), Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (Spain, No.62) Fabio Fognini (Italy, No. 88) and Ivo Minar (Croatia, No. 97).

The Chennai Open will also see the return of Davis Cuppers Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes who will be playing with their respective partners Mark Knowles (Bahamas) and Lukas Dlouhy (Czech Republic).Giving them tough competition will be the Bryan bothers - Mike and Bob - who until recently were ranked as the World No. 1 doubles pair.

India's top two ranked players Somdev Devvarman (201) and Prakash Amritraj (203) have been given the wildcards as also Dlouhy (Czech Republic, 195).

England ready for India tour after venue change

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has put an end to the speculations over England cricket team's returning to India for the two-Test series as it has agreed to send the team to India for the Test series.

The first Test that was to be played in Ahmedabad from 11 to 15 December has been shifted at Chennai, while Mohali will now be hosting the second Test starting from 19 to 23 December.

The three-day tour match has been called off.However, ECB will be sending their security consultant for discussions with the Authorities in India before final clearance is given for the Tour.

England's decision to return home lauded

London: England cricketers' decision to abandon the One-Day series against India and return home after the terror attack in Mumbai has been backed by the nation's cricket fraternity, which termed it a 'sensible' move.

Kevin Pietersen's men, trailing 0-5 in the seven-match ODI series, decided to return home after cancelling the remaining two matches in the wake of the devastating terror strikes in the financial capital of India.

Both the Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) and its English counterpart are optimistic about England's return to India for the Test matches and in a bid to salvage the two-match series, the BCCI on Friday shifted the venue of the second Test from the terror-hit Mumbai to Chennai.

But if the English players are reluctant to travel back to India, they have an ally in former England and Wales Cricket Board Chairman Lord MacLaurin.

"It was absolutely the right decision to come home. The England cricket team are very high-profile individuals. If these fanatics are going to target people then the England cricket side could be a very big target for them," MacLaurin was quoted as saying by The Guardian.

"My own view is that I would be very, very surprised if the security people will give them the OK to go back. I don't think they should go back. I think it's sad for cricket but the safety of our players is absolutely paramount and I am sure the ECB will take the same view," he added.

Former England cricketers also backed the team management's decision to return, saying the situation in India was not safe for the players to stay back. "I'm sure they would have taken a lot of security advice.

Two one-day internationals may have been cancelled but if you look at the bigger picture there has been a devastating attack on the commercial capital of India and a lot of people have lost their lives," Solanki said.

Wicket-keeper Paul Nixon, who represents Leicestershire in county cricket and the World XI in ICL, lauded the rebel league management for calling off the World Series which was being held at Ahmedabad and said the Mumbai attack was too scary to continue playing cricket.

"Obviously the top board members of the ICL made the decision that it was getting too scary out there really for everybody's safety," Nixon said.

"It was horrific. The bombs in London . . . It's been exactly the same in India."

Chess icon Viswanathan Anand gets hero's welcome

Chennai: Chess Grand master and world champion Viswanathan Anand was welcomed at Chennai International Airport after his victory in the Championship at Bonn. It was a hero's welcome in the wee hours of Friday, November 21.

It was a sportstar returning after conquering the world and for a change, it was not a cricketer that the people were going crazy over at the international airport.

Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand is back home from Bonn, and he has brought home the title as the reigning World Chess Champion.

"It feels great to be back. The reception has been absolutely fantastic," said Vishy, as Viswanathan Anand, the Chess Grandmaster is popularly known.

The excitement was palpable and Anand's fans, chess enthusiasts of all ages, couldn't get enough of their star.

As for wife Aruna, it was yet another proud moment.

"The reception has been great and now we are hoping to get pampered. I'm sure all the pampering will start soon," said Aruna Anand, Viswanathan Anand's wife.

Anand could see hundreds of school kids carrying placards, a band playing non-stop music, a traditional south Indian welcome and thousands of fans screaming out his name.

It was a welcome Anand will remember for a long time to come.

BCCI wants 1st Test to be put off by a day

The Indian cricket board wants the first Test against England at Ahmedabad put off by a day to allow Mahendra Singh Dhoni play in the Champions T20 League final two days prior to it in case his team Chennai Super Kings make it to the title-contest.

"I can confirm that an approach has been made by the Indian board to put it off by a day, but no decision has been taken so far," England team's media manager Andrew Walpole said on Monday.

Walpole said that the approach was made by the BCCI apparently to help Dhoni's case in the December 3-10 USD six million dollar prize money event jointly owned by the BCCI and its Australian and South African counterparts.Walpole also indicated that the England and Wales Cricket Board was not likely to respond to BCCI request.

The Test opener is to be held from December 11 at Ahmedabad's Motera stadium a day after the Champions League final at Chennai.

The second and final Test the Platinum Jubilee encounter is to be played at Mumbai's Brabourne Stadium from December 19-23 before the visiting team returns home in time for Christmas.

If the request is acceded to by the ECB and the England team, both the teams' players would get only two days' time between the two Tests.

Rising son Vijay makes parents proud

Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar might have stolen the show on the first day of the Nagpur Test, but one man who made a quiet yet noticeable debut was Tamil Nadu opener M Vijay.

M. Vijay, who was included in the side in place of Gautam Gambhir, gave a good start with Virender Sehwag. He was dismissed for 33 in his first Test innings but he showed that he was definitely a talent that cannot be ignored. Understandably the parents of the 24-year-old were a proud couple.

Vijay's parents back in Chennai said they were proud to see their boy become one of the men in blue in the city of oranges, Nagpur.

"We are proud. We believed he would make it but didn't expect it to happen this soon," said Murali, M Vijay's Father.

Though it was a late start for Vijay in cricket at the age of 17, his rise from a place in the Ranji squad to the coveted opener's position in Team India has been phenomenal.

He started playing Ranji Trophy two years back. An average of nearly 50 runs in the first-class cricket ensured the selectors could never ignore Vijay.

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Paes, Bhupathi to play at Chennai Open

Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi

Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi will play with their respective partners at the $450,000 Chennai Open 2009. The 14th edition of Chennai Open, India's only ATP tennis tournament, will be held from Jan 5-11, at the SDAT Stadium here.While Bhupathi will team up with his long time Bahamas partner Mark Knowles, Paes will combine with Lukas Dlouhy of Czech Republic in the men's doubles.The season has gone reasonably well for World no. 3 Bhupathi and Mark Knowles, who recently won the Swiss Indoor Championships, and will play in the year-ending Shanghai Masters.Paes has missed Chennai Open only thrice so far in the last 14 years (2004, 2007). Bhupathi, on the other hand will be returning to the tournament after a three year gap, having missed it due injury prior commitments in previous years.Confirming his participation, Peas said: "It's always great be a part of the Chennai Open. I am glad to return to the city where I have grown up and to play in front of a crowd that's always been of great support to me. Lukas and I have had a phenomenal year and we hope to have a great start to the New Year. A fifth Chennai Open title would be a dream start for 2009."On the other hand, the world no. six Paes and Dlouhy, who first played at Roland Garros this year had a successful run. They won the first ATP title together at the Thailand Open 2008 at Bangkok.Bhupathi said: "I am excited to be back playing at home after a few years. Mark and myself have had a great year and we look forward to kick-starting 2009 with a big week at the Chennai Open."

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