Leander Paes, who is hoping there will not be another selection fiasco ahead of the Rio Olympics, feels he deserves to be paired with Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza for the men’s and mixed doubles events.
Recalling the drama ahead of the 2012 London Olympics when Bopanna and Mahesh Bhupathi refused to pair with him, Paes said dirty politics took place and it should not happen this time around.
“I hope that does not happen again. I believe selection should be on merit. To win three mixed doubles Grand Slams in 2015 leading to the Olympic year, I certainly hope that I am India’s front-runner in Rio,” Paes said before this week’s Chennai Open.
“In the men’s doubles I believe the best team is Rohan and myself, and likewise in mixed doubles it is Sania and myself. The fact is that neither has made any of the finals in mixed doubles in 2015.
“That being said, having won nine mixed doubles both on the deuce court and Ad-court, I have won on both sides. Also remember that we have won an Asian Games medal together,” 43-year-old Paes asserted.
Asked if he approached Bopanna for a partnership this season leading up to Games, Paes said he did.
“I had asked Rohan whether he would like to partner me in the Chennai Open and other tournaments. But, it seems he is set with his partnerships and he was not keen on my offer.
“I do feel it is important to play a few tournaments together in an Olympic year. I tried to do it in 2012 but unfortunately as that panned out, it was a complete shambles.”
Paes said he also spoke to Mirza for forging a mixed doubles partnership for the Rio Games.
“I have spoken with her a few times. Without a shadow of a doubt when one goes by merit, winning three Grand Slams leading to the Olympics kind of speaks for itself.”
However he clarified that he did not offer to play with Mirza on the Tour this season since he was not keen to break his successful pairing with Swiss legend Martina Hingis after they won three Grand Slam trophies in 2015.
“To win three Grand Slams out of four, you do not want to break that as it is not a bad achievement. Hence, Hingis is one of the greatest partners that I have had. She is one of the legends of the game and a great partner. So I am playing with her in the Aussie Open.
“I hope that another shambles in selection does not happen. I think by about March or April is when the nominations go in. Regardless of what happens in the Aussie, US and French Open’s this year, look at the number of Grand Slams that I have won. I have in all won 33. I should get a call.”
Asked what will he do if he does not get the combination of his choice, Paes replied: “I will continue my journey.”
“No one can take my history away. Do what you want, my journey is my journey. I respect tennis. I respect playing for India, the tri-colour flag, our people. My journey will remain mine no matter what other nonsense happens, it is for the people to answer.”
Paes said he has already spoken to AITA officials about Rio selection.
“I have had a couple of conversations with them already this year as far as the Rio Olympics go. I had made it clear that the mixed doubles is a real true chance of winning a medal for India, especially because of the hard court surface.
“If we are not given the chance for whatever non-sensical reason there is, unfortunately the people and the flag and the country lose out on winning a medal. If that farce is going to play out again, God help all of us.”
Paes though felt that there were indications that Bopanna and Mirza are planning to compete together.
“Such indications are always there. But at the end of the day all of us in sporting fraternity know what happened in 2012. At that time I felt that basically politics came in and played its part in a very dirty manner.
“That being said, it should not be there in sport. I know the people that were behind it and I am not going to name them.”
Paes asserted that age should not a criteria when it comes to selection.
“It is not about age. Age has nothing to do with it. Martina Navratilova and Martina Hingis are still playing. Navratilova won a Grand Slam when she was 49 years old. So age is not the criteria. It is about history, experience and form. In my opinion, the best team should be fielded and go forward.”
Paes also argued Mirza did not reach a Grand Slam mixed doubles final in 2015 while he won three with Hingis.
“Sania is number one in the world in women’s doubles. In mixed doubles she has not got into a final (in 2015). Let us be very clear on this. And I beat Rohan pretty convincingly at the US Open in mixed doubles and he was playing the ad side of the court.”
Paes also revealed he would not retire after Rio irrespective of the result.
“I would be lying to you if I said I won’t be tempted to retire if I win an Olympic medal at Rio. But also I will say that I work really hard on my fitness and on my mind, and to stop right in the middle of a season is not my style. I am very strong on my commitments.
“When I commit to my partner that I am playing the whole season, I will play the whole season barring injury. I am a man of my word.”
SACHIN TENDULKAR said "life has truly come full circle" after a portrait of him was unveiled at Lord's on Thursday.
Tendulkar, widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen, scored 34,357 runs across Tests, one-day internationals and one T20 match for India during his international career from 1989 to 2013.
(Photo credit: PTI)
His total is over 6,000 runs more than the next highest of 28,016 scored by Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara.
In a post on X, Tendulkar recalled his first visit to Lord’s in 1988. "I remember standing near the pavilion, soaking in the history and dreaming quietly," he wrote.
"Today, to have my portrait unveiled at this very place is a feeling that's hard to put into words. Life has truly come full circle. I’m grateful, and filled with wonderful memories."
I first visited Lord’s as a teenager in 1988, and returned in 1989 with the Star Cricket Club team.
I remember standing near the pavilion, soaking in the history and dreaming quietly.
Today, to have my portrait unveiled at this very place is a feeling that’s hard to put into… pic.twitter.com/ZC987eH8oZ — Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) July 10, 2025
The portrait was created by Stuart Pearson Wright, based on a photograph taken by the artist at Tendulkar’s home in Mumbai 18 years ago. It was unveiled before the first day of the third Test between England and India.
It is the fifth portrait of an Indian player to be added to the collections of Marylebone Cricket Club, which owns Lord's.
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Swiatek broke early in the match, racing to a 3-0 lead and never allowed the 35th-ranked Bencic to settle. (Photo: Getty Images)
Iga Swiatek storms into her first Wimbledon final with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Belinda Bencic
Swiatek will face Amanda Anisimova, who beat world number one Aryna Sabalenka
Anisimova reaches her first Wimbledon final and will break into the top 10 rankings
Sabalenka exits in the semi-final for the second time, despite a strong 2024 season
IGA SWIATEK reached her first Wimbledon final on Thursday with a dominant 6-2, 6-0 win over Belinda Bencic in just 71 minutes on Centre Court. The 24-year-old, seeded eighth, will face Amanda Anisimova in the final after the American defeated world number one Aryna Sabalenka in a three-set semi-final.
“Honestly, I never even dreamed that it's going to be possible for me to play in the final,” said Swiatek. “So I'm just super-excited and proud of myself and, I don't know, tennis keeps surprising me. I thought I had experienced everything on the court but I didn't experience playing well on grass, so that's the first time. I'm super excited and just enjoying it.”
Swiatek broke early in the match, racing to a 3-0 lead and never allowed the 35th-ranked Bencic to settle. The Swiss player, who won Olympic gold in Tokyo in 2021, managed to win two games in the first set but was unable to respond as Swiatek took full control in the second.
“Today was just a different level from Iga. She played amazing and I didn't feel like she let me in the match for one second,” said Bencic. “There's nothing I really regret. In the end, she was just too good, and I was a step too short.”
Swiatek has now dropped just one set in the tournament. Although four of her five Grand Slam titles have come at the French Open, she made her first grass-court final at Bad Homburg two weeks ago and has now reached her second on the surface.
Swiatek, who reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals last year, has won all five of her previous Grand Slam finals. She will face Anisimova in their first professional meeting.
Anisimova, seeded 13th, advanced to her first Wimbledon final after beating Sabalenka 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in a match lasting just over two and a half hours.
“This doesn't feel real right now, honestly,” said Anisimova. “Aryna is such a tough competitor and I was absolutely dying out there. I don't know how I pulled it out. We've had so many tough battles and to come out on top and be in the final of Wimbledon is incredible.”
The 23-year-old, who now holds a 6-3 head-to-head record over Sabalenka, won the first set before the Belarusian levelled the match in the second. Anisimova closed out the final set to complete a notable victory.
Anisimova made headlines in 2019 when she reached the semi-finals of the French Open at the age of 17. In 2023, she took an eight-month break from tennis for mental health reasons and dropped out of the top 400. At Wimbledon last year, she failed to qualify for the main draw.
On Thursday, she became only the second player in the Open era to reach a Grand Slam final after losing in qualifying at the same event the previous year. She is now guaranteed to enter the top 10 of the rankings on Monday.
“If you told me I would be in the final of Wimbledon, I would not believe you. It's indescribable to be honest,” she said.
For Sabalenka, it was another disappointment at Wimbledon. The 27-year-old has now failed to progress past the semi-finals at the tournament. She won the US Open last year and reached the finals of both the Australian Open and French Open earlier this season.
“Losing sucks,” Sabalenka said. “You feel like you are getting close to your dream and then this is the end. You always feel like you want to die and not exist any more. But then you sit there a little bit and think about what you could have done differently.”
(With inputs from agencies)
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Root, in his 156th Test, again played a crucial role after England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and chose to bat on a sunny day at Lord's. (Photo: Getty Images)
JOE ROOT finished unbeaten on 99 as England reached 251-4 at stumps on the opening day of the third Test against India at Lord's on Thursday.
England were struggling at 44-2 after Indian pacer Nitish Kumar Reddy struck twice in his opening over, removing openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley. Root came in and steadied the innings, building partnerships and keeping the scoreboard moving at just over three an over, slower than England’s usual 'Bazball' tempo.
Root, in his 156th Test, again played a crucial role after England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and chose to bat on a sunny day at Lord's. Stokes was 39 not out at the close, having added an unbroken 79-run partnership with Root for the fifth wicket.
Stokes appeared to tweak his groin towards the end of the day, raising concerns for England, especially as fast bowler Jofra Archer was recalled to the side after a long injury break.
Earlier, Root had shared a 109-run stand with Ollie Pope. The partnership, built over 35 overs, helped England recover after the early wickets. Pope scored 44 after surviving a close chance on his first ball.
"It's not always been the way we've gone about our cricket, but I think long term in the game hopefully that will reward us if we can kick on tomorrow," Pope told Sky Sports.
Before the match, much of the focus was on the return of Jasprit Bumrah, the top-ranked Test bowler, after he was rested in India’s 336-run win at Edgbaston that levelled the five-match series at 1-1.
However, it was Reddy who made the biggest early impact. Bowling from the Nursery End, the 22-year-old took two wickets in four balls on his debut at Lord’s, ending the day with 2-46 in 14 overs.
His third delivery dismissed Duckett (23), caught down the leg side by wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant off a gloved pull. With the last ball of the same over, Reddy bowled a full-length delivery that swung late and took Crawley’s outside edge, with Pant taking the catch. Crawley made 18.
"I feel great bowling from that (Nursery) end," Reddy said after stumps. "I don't know much about the slope, but from that end when I bowled it's been moving a lot, and after pitching also it's going good."
Root masterclass
Root reached his half-century with a glance through fine leg off Reddy, his seventh four, coming off 102 balls. He remained steady throughout the day.
Pope was dismissed to the first ball after tea, edging Ravindra Jadeja to substitute wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel, who was fielding after Pant suffered a finger injury.
Harry Brook followed soon after, bowled by Bumrah between bat and pad for 11. Bumrah ended with 1-35 from 18 overs.
At 172-4, Stokes came in to join Root. Stokes, who last scored a Test hundred during the Ashes two years ago at Lord's, was on 27 when Reddy’s lbw appeal was turned down on umpire’s call.
Root went past 80 with an on-driven boundary off Reddy, and play was briefly halted due to a ladybird interruption at the ground.
In the final moments, Stokes defended Akash Deep’s last two deliveries of the day, unable to rotate the strike, leaving Root one run short of his 37th Test century and eighth at Lord’s.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Djokovic serves to Italy's Flavio Cobolli during their men's singles quarter-final tennis match on the tenth day of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships on July 9, 2025. (Photo: Getty Images)
Djokovic to play Sinner in his 14th Wimbledon semi-final
Alcaraz aims for third straight final against American fifth seed Fritz
Sinner leads Djokovic 5-4 in head-to-head, winning last four matches
Fritz seeks to become first American man in Wimbledon final since 2009
NOVAK DJOKOVIC will face world number one Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon semi-finals on Friday, while defending champion Carlos Alcaraz plays Taylor Fritz in the other last-four clash.
Djokovic, a seven-time Wimbledon champion, is aiming for a record 25th Grand Slam title and sees the grass courts of the All England Club as his best chance to achieve it. Now 38, he is preparing for what he calls the “biggest challenge” of his campaign.
The Serb, who has not won a Grand Slam since claiming his 24th major at the 2023 US Open, will be playing in his 14th Wimbledon semi-final, with 10 wins from his previous 13 matches at this stage. He has reached every final at Wimbledon since 2018, and his last semi-final loss at the tournament came in 2012 against Roger Federer.
A win on Friday would put Djokovic into his 11th Wimbledon final and 38th Grand Slam final overall. If he progresses, he would equal Federer’s Open era record of seven consecutive Wimbledon men’s finals.
Djokovic beat Sinner in the Wimbledon quarter-finals in 2022 and again in the semi-finals in 2023. However, Sinner has had the upper hand in recent meetings, defeating Djokovic at the 2024 Australian Open and again at this year’s French Open. The Italian currently leads their head-to-head 5-4 after nine encounters and has won their last four matches.
“Sinner and Alcaraz are the leaders of tennis today. I couldn't ask for a bigger challenge, for sure. I look forward to it,” Djokovic said.
Sinner, who brushed aside Ben Shelton in the quarter-finals, dismissed concerns about an elbow injury. A win for the 22-year-old Australian Open champion would send him into his first Wimbledon final. It would also mark his fourth consecutive Grand Slam final appearance, making him the sixth man to do so in the Open era.
“Me and Novak, we know each other better because we played quite a lot. So we understand what's working and what's not,” Sinner said.
In the other semi-final, Spain’s Alcaraz will be aiming for his third successive Wimbledon final when he takes on American fifth seed Fritz.
Alcaraz, 22, had a slow start to the tournament. He went to five sets against Fabio Fognini in the opening round and dropped sets against Jan-Lennard Struff and Andrey Rublev. But he returned to form with a straight-sets win over Cameron Norrie in the quarter-finals.
The world number two is currently on a 23-match winning streak since losing to Holger Rune in the Barcelona final in April. He has won 34 of his last 37 matches on grass.
“Taylor is playing great. The grass season has been really successful for him so far. I have to be ready for that battle,” Alcaraz said.
Fritz, 27, is looking to reach his second Grand Slam final. He lost his first, against Sinner, at the US Open last year. If he defeats Alcaraz, he will become the first American man to make the Wimbledon final since Andy Roddick in 2009.
Amanda Anisimova defeats world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in three sets
The American advances to her first Grand Slam final
Sabalenka’s run of Grand Slam finals ends
Anisimova will face either Swiatek or Bencic on Saturday
With the win, Anisimova is projected to reach world No. 7
American tennis star Amanda Anisimova produced the biggest win of her career by defeating world number one Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in the semi-finals of Wimbledon on Thursday. The result sends the 23-year-old into her first Grand Slam final, where she will face either Iga Swiatek or Belinda Bencic on Saturday.
The contest on Centre Court lasted two hours and 37 minutes and was interrupted twice during the first set due to spectators feeling unwell in the heat. Despite the stoppages, both players maintained their focus in a match marked by intense rallies and shifting momentum.
Anisimova, currently ranked 12th, held her nerve in key moments. Although she was broken for the first time in the second set after leading 30-love, she regrouped in the deciding set. After losing her serve in the opening game, she immediately broke back and went on a run of three consecutive games to take control of the match.
Sabalenka’s defeat ends her streak of reaching the last two Grand Slam finals and marks her third straight Grand Slam loss to an American player this year, following defeats to Coco Gauff at Roland Garros and Madison Keys in Melbourne.
Anisimova, the last American woman remaining in the draw, is set to climb to a career-high world No. 7 following this result. Sabalenka will retain her No. 1 ranking for a 39th consecutive week despite the loss.