Tennis

Novak Djokovic was back on top form as he brushed aside rising Australian talent Bernard Tomic 6-3, 6-3 to reach the third round of the Rome Masters on Tuesday.

Sania Mirza might have been out of action in singles but she still managed to gain four places to be at 187th spot in the latest WTA rankings issued on Monday.

The Indian pair of Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna crashed out of the ATP Madrid Masters after losing their semifinal match to Robert Lindstedt of Sweden and Horia Tecau of Romania here.

Star Indian paddler Achanta Sharath Kamal and national champion Anthony Amalraj failed to book a berth for the upcoming London Games after crashing out of the World Olympic Qualification Table Tennis Tournament in Doha, Qatar on Saturday.

Rafa Nadal's uncle and coach Toni has added his voice to growing criticism of the Madrid Open's blue clay courts, and hit out at tournament owner Ion Tiriac and the men's tour organisers the ATP over the switch from the traditional red dirt.

Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna overcame a late resistance from Santiago Gonzalez and Christopher Kas to move to the quarter-finals of the ATP Madrid Masters, here.

Roger Federer rallied to beat Milos Raonic 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (4) at the Madrid Open to narrowly avoid his earliest tournament exit in two years.

Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna overcame a late resistance from Santiago Gonzalez and Christopher Kas to move to the quarter-finals of the ATP Madrid Masters, here.

Sania Mirza and Anastasia Rodionova suffered an upset first round exit from the Madrid Open, a premier WTA event, after losing to Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Shuai Zhang, on Tuesday.

Wary top seed Novak Djokovic said on Monday he hoped that play this week on the untried blue clay laid down for the Madrid Masters will be injury-free as the controversial surface gets a test under battle conditions.