Nirupama loses to Spaniard in Challenger

NEW DELHI, July 17: Nirupama Vaidyanathan crashed out in straight sets to qualifier Nuria Montero of Spain in the quarter-final of the Gexto Challenger in Spain. She lost 2-6, 5-7.

Earlier, Nirupama had got past Katalin Marosi of Hungary, ranked No 291 in three sets 4-6, 6-0, 6-3. The quarter-final appearance has seen Nirupama pick up enough points to break into the top 160, her highest ranking this year.

Paes moves up

According to the latest ATP rankings, Leander Paes moves up to No 103 while Mahesh Bhupathi, due to the loss of points from the first round at the Granby Challenger, moves down to 320.

Meanwhile, Syed Fazaluddin has moved up about 40 spots and is up to No 636 and Prahlad Srinath remains on 467.