Sania Mirza is the perfect blend of glamorous looks with a mean forehand on the tennis courts. And it’s no surprise that there has been reports of a Bollywood biopic based on her life, doing the rounds for quite sometime. From Sania herself going to act in it, to actress Parineeti Chopra essaying Sania on celluloid, there has been many rumours. But finally the tennis star puts all that to rest by confirming the biopic reports.     

Speaking to Al Jazeera Sania admitted, “There are some talks going on, but there’s nothing concrete right now. I’m a private person, so it is a difficult ask of me to open up completely. There were some parts, even in the book, that were difficult for me to write about.”

She adds “I think we, people of the subcontinent, come from a very cricket-obsessed culture. We try to act like we are a sporting nation two months before the Olympics, Asian Games or Commonwealth Games. Until then, nobody really cares. We need to remember that we have champions outside of cricket, as well. Most sports don’t get the kind of support, help or viewership that is given to cricket. But because of movies like the ones you mentioned, the whole country realises who these people are. Bollywood is probably the biggest industry that we have. It’s one way to reach out to the masses and, actually, celebrate.”

Bollywood recently has seen a spurt of biopics based on sports stars; Mary Kom, Mohammad Azharuddin and M.S Dhoni. And it seems like Sania is next in queue for the big screen. Work for this biopic on the player has started.

It has been reported earlier that this movie will be directed by Farah khan, and Bollywood star Parineeti Chopra will play the lead. In an interview Sania Mirza had given Parineeti Chopra as her choice to play Sania Mirza in the biopic.

Jitu gives India first gold at Shooting World Cup

Funny Restaurant Videos | Watch weird characters at food joints

Ladies and Gentlemen, the King has returned!

Roger Federer clinches his 18th Grand Slam title. He won over long-term rival Rafael Nadal in the ninth grand slam final the two tennis legends have contested. The match was billed as the biggest final ever played in the sport.

After a fittingly nail-biting 5 settler, its a 5th Australian Open title for Roger Federer

6-4 3-6 6-1 3-6 6-3.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the King has returned.#Federer clinches his 18th Grand Slam title def. Nadal 6-4 3-6 6-1 3-6 6-3. #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/KyJklc7vge

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 29, 2017

Here are the highlights of the amazing match:

Maestro on the move…

Clean machine #Federer takes command of the 1st set 6-4 v #Nadal. #AusOpen #Fedal pic.twitter.com/svRO3CD7oY — #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 29, 2017

Cool as a cucumber…@rogerfederer #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/Ik4ZVUf785 — #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 29, 2017

Bull on the loose…

Those eye-watering groundstrokes come out to play as #Nadal charges through the 2nd set 6-3. #AusOpen #FedererNadal pic.twitter.com/xgDmZdHwKh — #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 29, 2017

Leander Paes tweeted out of awe for the players:

Such high intensity tennis, this is the stuff that Champions are made of.. every point matters #FedererNadal #AusOpen — Leander Paes (@Leander) January 29, 2017

#Federer takes the third set. #AusOpen #FedererNadal pic.twitter.com/eDCcWGSjon — #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 29, 2017

Would it even be a #FedererNadal clash if it didn’t go to 5? Things are about to go into overdrive as Rafa takes the 4th 6-3. #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/2rEqvuJf0j

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 29, 2017

This is the second major final that ​Sania Mirza and Ivan Dodig have lost

Sania-Dodig were thoroughly outplayed in the final and the higher seeded pair just couldn’t counter the precise game from across the net. There were far too many unforced errors from both the Indian and Croat and the Spears and Cabal didn’t let them get away with it.

The duo of Sania and Dodig was off to a terrible start as they lost opening four games in the first set, conceding 0-4 lead to their unseeded opponents Spears and Cabal. However, they fought back to win the fifth and seventh games. But that was not enough as Sania-Dodig lost the first set 2-6.

The much-experienced Sania and Dodig didn’t give up as the Indo-Croatian pair bounced back to win the first three games to take a crucial 3-0 lead in the second set. But the US-Colombian pair’s never-say-die attitude came to the fore as they staged a remarkable fightback to make it 4-4 in the second set.

The Spears-Cabal duo finally broke Sania-Dodig serve in the ninth game to take a decisive 5-4 lead and then held their nerve and serve to seal the coveted championship. Abigail Spears and Juan Sebastian Cabal, on the other hand, looked sharp and didn’t let the pressure of the moment get to them. The unseeded duo, who haven’t dropped a set throughout the tournament, and are deserving champs.

The duo Abigail Spears & Juans Cabal emerge as Winners of Australian Open Mixed Doubles

Ace Indian tennis player Sania Mirza and her Croatian partner Ivan Dodig defeated local favourites Samantha Stosur and Sam Groth to enter the Australian Open mixed doubles fil.

 
The second seeded Indo-Croatian pair outplayed the Australian duo 6-4, 2-6, 10-5.
 
They will now take on the winner of the second semi-final featuring Elina Svitolina-Chris Guccione and Abigail Spears-Juan Sebastian Cabal.

Federer will now compete for his fifth crown in his sixth Australian Open final.

Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer will attempt to win his record-stretching 18th Grand Slam championship after a battling performance in the Australian Open semi-finals against compatriot Stan Wawrink 7-5, 6-3, 1-6, 4-6, 6-3.

 
He will up against his old foe Rafael Nadal or Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov in the final.

Roger Federer celebrates after defeating compatriot Stan Wawrinka

16-Time World Champ Pankaj Advani Asks What More He Needs To Do

Sania Mirza set up a face-off with Rohan Bopanna in the mixed doubles quarter-finals after she and Ivan Dodig defeated Alexander Peya and Zheng Saisai 2-6, 6-3, 10-6.

Earlier in the day, Rohan Bopanna and Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski mounted a great fight back to win against Poland’s Lukasz Kubot and Taiwan’s Chan Yung-jan to win 6-4, 5-7, 10-3.

The quarter-final pits the two Indians who represented the country in mixed doubles at the 2016 Olympics. At the Rio Games, Sania-Bopanna lost the bronze medal play-off tie.

The Indo-Croatian pair were outplayed in the opening set as Peya-Zheng began the proceedings aggressively.

But the second seeded Sania-Dodig used all their experience to turn the tide and broke their opponents at a crucial time in the second set to win it 7-5.

In the deciding third set tie-break, Sania-Dodig imposed themselves on the match, hit several winners, including backhand and forehand volleys, to snuff out the opposition in an hour and four minutes.

Second seeded Sania and Croatian Dodig entered the second round after beating Germany’s Laura Siegemund and Croatian Mate Pavic 7-5, 6-4.

The unseeded duo of Bopanna and Dabrowski clinched the first set without much fuss but went down in the second before bouncing back in the third set tie-breaker in a match that lasted one hour and 16 minutes.

Siddhant Banthia and Turk Kaya Gore entered the boys men’s doubles quarter-final, beating Zizou Bergs and Yshai Oliel 6-3 7-6(6).

In the girls singles, Mihika Yadav lost 2-6, 1-6 against Japanese Mai Hontama.

Read Also:

Spanish superstar Rafael Nadal survived a marathon third-round battle against Alexander Zverev at the Australian Open tennis tournament, prevailing with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-2 win.

“It’s obviously an important result for me,” Nadal was quoted as saying by atpworldtour.com after his win in Rod Laver Arena.

“So it’s important for me to win a match like this, having been down two sets to one. I’m very happy.”

A single break of serve was all that was needed in each of the first two sets. Neither player faced a break point in the third set, ultimately forcing a critical tie-break.

Nadal’s forehand error gave the German an opportunity in the third set tie-breaker, which he took full advantage of by hitting a backhand winner on set point to earn a commanding lead.

But the 14-time Grand Slam winner refused to go away. He raced out to a 3-0 lead in the fourth set and appeared to finally wear down Zverev with the long baseline rallies that were the highlights of the match.

The young German hit 12 winners to 16 unforced errors in the fourth set while Nadal held onto the lead to force a deciding set.

The final stages of the match ultimately came down to fitness, with Zverev appearing to cramp at 2-2 in the fifth set.

Sensing his opportunity, the ninth seed sprinted through the final four games of the match to prevail in four hours and five minutes.

“It was a tough match,” reflected Nadal. “He’s a player that has an amazing potential. He is able to produce great shots. He’s already one of the best players in the world. He can be even better. He can be fighting for the most important things. So I think he will do it.

“For the confidence, for lot of things, it is very important to win these kind of matches. I worked a lot during all of December to have the chances to compete well in these kind of moments. Even if I started the match with some nerves, I think I was able to came back well.

Nadal will next face sixth seed Gael Monfils, who recorded a 6-3, 7-6(1), 6-4 victory over Philipp Kohlschreiber in just under two hours.

“Mentally I have been very positive during the whole match. In terms of physical performance, I felt great, ready for every ball. In terms of level of tennis, I think I finished the match playing much better than how I started the match. That’s a very important thing,” Nadal concluded.

Rafael Nadal playing fun Tennis Football game | La Liga opens India office

Worst Bollywood Movies of 2016 | Most Pakau Film | Glint TV

IANS

To avoid the rigours of Aircel Chennai Open qualification, Indias injury-prone tennis player Yuki Bhambri on Thursday vowed to break back into the top-100 in 2017.

The 2009 junior Australian Open champion, who pulled out from last year’s Aircel Chennai Open with an elbow injury and “made the mistake” of playing in the Australian Open without being fully fit, went though his first practice session at the SDAT Stadium.

“It’s really tough not to be in the top-100. But I am highly motivated and I want to be back there,” he said.

Australian Open 2017 to boast 198 of world’s 200 best tennis players

“I trained in Thailand for a few weeks to acclimatise myself for Chennai and Australia. I even played in some sort of a warm-up tournament in Hong Kong to get some match practice. So I am looking forward to this.”

With two wild cards going to Saket Myneni and Ramkumar Ramanathan, Yuki had no choice but to find a route into the Chennai Open through the qualifiers.

“Saket and Ram have been playing well,” he quipped when asked about not being the first choice for the Davis Cup team earlier this year.

Worst Bollywood Movies of 2016 | Most Pakau Film | Glint TV

“They have a better ranking than me so it’s all fine,” he said.

“I have been working and practising for the last 30-35 days. I went through a knew surgery and I am playing pretty well again,” he added.

The Chennai Open starts on January 2.

IANS

Top seed Andy Murray defeated Stan Wawrinka in straight sets to reach the semifinals of the ATP World Tour Finals at London’s O2 Arena on Friday.

Murray, fighting for the year-end first place in the world rankings, took 86 minutes to defeat the Swiss number one 6-4, 6-2, Xinhua news agency reported.

He also improved to 10 wins and seven defeats against Wawarinka, although winning one game was enough to send him to the last four.

Also Read : Murray tops men’s singles tennis rankings

Watch :Rafael Nadal playing fun Tennis Football game | La Liga opens India office

The 29-year-old topped the group with a perfect record in the second group, beating Marin Cilic of Croatia in the first match and edged fifth seed Kei Nishikori of Japan in the second.

Nishikori also reached the semifinals as the second place finisher in the group, making his match against Cilic later meaningless.

Murray will fight for the final berth against fourth seed Milos Raonic of Canada and Nishikori meet Serbia’s Novak Djokvic.

IANS

Japanese tennis player Kei Nishikori successfully started the ATP World Tour Finals with a victory over Swiss Stan Wawrinka 6-2, 6-3 in the John McEnroe Group.

The win on Monday helped the Japanese world Number 5 narrow the gap with the third-ranked Swiss to 210 points in the ATP rankings, Efe news reported.

Also Read: Murray tops men’s singles tennis rankings

The victory boosts Nishikori’s chances of finishing the season third in the world rankings for the first time in his career, a spot that has been rarified air in men’s tennis.

Switzerland’s Roger Federer and Wawrinka, Spain’s Rafael Nadal, Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, Britain’s Andy Murray – all of whom are virtual locks for tennis’ Hall of Fame – and Spain’s David Ferrer are the only players to hold the Number 3 spot since August 13, 2007.

IANS