Sports India

Sania Mirza lost to seventh seed Elena Dementieva in the first round of Wimbledon. The Russian defeated the Indian teenager 7-6 (7-5) 7-5. The defeat means Mirza has slipped two places to 40th in the latest WTA rankings. Amelie Mauresmo won the women’s singles title with a 2-6 6-3 6-4 victory over Belgian Justine Henin-Hardene. In the men’s event, Roger Federer won his fourth consecutive title with a 6-0 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (2-7) 6-3 victory over arch-rival and current French Open champion, Rafael Nadal.
In the mixed doubles event, Sania paired up with Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands. After a convincing first round victory for the pair, they struggled to get any sort of fluency in the second round. Dementieva proved to be her nemesis once again as she and Pennetta ended Mirza’s bid for Wimbledon glory, courtesy of a 6-4 6-2 victory.

Israel was awarded a Federation Cup match when the Indonesian team forfeited by refusing to play a World Group II playoff in Israel. The International Tennis Federation’s Fed Cup committee will consider sanctions against Indonesia. The ITF said it had received confirmation in writing that Indonesia would not travel to the 15-16 July match in Ramat Hasharon.
ITF president Francesco Ricci Bitti added that the federation was saddened by the decision. “The team was ready and willing to play and understood, perhaps better than their government, that sport in its purest form is about building bridges,” said Ricci Bitti.