Yuki Bhambri

Calcutta: Teen sensation Yuki Bhambri has made a sensational leap, moving up 619 positions to be ranked a career best of 839, in the latest Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) singles ranking list, released on Monday. Two successive International Tennis Federation Futures wins in New Delhi over the fortnight ensured this jump for the current Australian Open junior champion.

India’s best future hope in singles, Somdev Dev Varman, has moved up one position to be ranked 146 and has 552 points in his kitty. Mahesh Bhupathi has moved up two places to be ranked 9 in Monday’s ATP doubles chart with 5560 points but Leander Paes remained static at 5 with 7010 ranking points.

Prakash Amritraj and Rohan Bopanna have both moved up in the singles list. Amritraj is ranked 166; a leap of 12 positions, while Bopanna has gained 33 places to be ranked 293. Bopanna has also moved up two places in the doubles list to be ranked 68.

Meanwhile, Sania Mirza has managed to stay within the top 100 in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) singles ranking list, gaining one place. She is ranked 92 with 692 points. Sania, however, remains static at 60 in the doubles chart. The next Indian in the WTA list, Sunitha Rao, moved down three positions and is ranked 290.

Spain’s Rafael Nadal dominantly holds on to the No.1 ranking in the ATP chart with 15290 points. He won his fourth Rome Master’s title on Sunday, defeating Novak Djokovic in straight sets. However, the race for the second spot is fast closing. Number three Djokovic from Serbia is only 750 points away from overthrowing Swiss Roger Federer (10420) from the spot, who has held on to the No. 2 rank since 18 August 2008. Federer had lost to the Serb in the Rome Masters semi-final last week.

Russian Dinara Safina remained at the top slot in the WTA chart having a clear points margin, despite losing to compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova in Sunday’s Stuttgart Open final.