News / Author / Rutvick Mehta

Rutvick Mehta

A romantic of the ferocious Rafael Nadal forehand, Rutvick Mehta loves his tennis but has been covering various other sport since 2012. He writes for HT.

Articles by Rutvick Mehta

5 of the quirkiest shrines to Maradona

Preserved prawn shells, a Michelangelo fresco recast, an actual church, and a strand of hair at a coffee bar - take a quick tour of extreme devotion.

The shrine a the Nilo coffee bar in Naples.(Getty Images)

sports

Updated on Nov 27, 2020 09:31 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByRutvick Mehta

Prajnesh Gunneswaran finalist in second US Challenger event in row, regains India No.1 tennis ranking

The left-handed player finishes runner-up in back-to-back hard court event in the US, regains his position as India’s top singles player.

sports

Updated on Nov 23, 2020 08:32 PM IST

Hindustan Times, Mumbai | ByRutvick Mehta

Nadal adapts, ATP Finals title still remains elusive

The Spaniard’s first semi-final in five years at the ATP Finals ended in defeat, failing to serve out for the match in a 6-3, 6-7(4), 3-6 loss to the on-song Russian in London on Saturday night.

Tennis - ATP Finals - The O2, London, Britain - November 21, 2020 Spain's Rafael Nadal walks off after losing his semi-final match against Russia's Daniil Medvedev Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs(Action Images via Reuters)

sports

Updated on Nov 23, 2020 06:20 AM IST

Hindustan Times, Mumbai | ByRutvick Mehta

10-man Mumbai lose to NorthEast

A new-look NorthEast Untied FC (NEUFC), helmed by Gerard Nus, who at 35 is the youngest coach ever in ISL, beat star-studded but 10-man Mumbai City 1-0 at the Tilak Maidan Stadium in Vasco, Goa, on Saturday.

Mumbai City FC vs NorthEast United FC ISL match(ISL)

sports

Updated on Nov 21, 2020 10:36 PM IST

Hindsutan Times, Mumbai | ByRutvick Mehta

ISL 2020: ATK Mohun Bagan start off with 1-0 win over Kerala Blasters

Fijian hitman Roy Krishna, who was ATK’s top goal scorer with 15 goals last season, struck the all important goal after a 67 minute deadlock to give the all important three points for the green-and-maroon brigade.

ATK Mohun Bagan’s Roy Krishna celebrates after scoring against Kerala Blasters.(Twitter/ISL)

sports

Updated on Nov 20, 2020 10:35 PM IST

Bambolim, Goa | ByRutvick Mehta

New coach Sergio Lobera aims to change Mumbai City FC fortunes

Spanish coach wants to replicate his success with FC Goa though Covid-19 has hampered the build-up to a new season.

Sergio Lobera in a training session.(Mumbai City FC)

sports

Updated on Nov 17, 2020 09:37 PM IST

Hindustan Times, Mumbai | ByRutvick Mehta

Age-group tennis events to return with cautious steps in India

Eight cities—Delhi, Gurugram, Sonipat, Indore, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh and Raipur—will hold tournaments locally.

Player Evaar Kumar gets a session undergoing after Chandigarh Lawn Tennis Association (CLTA), sector 10, opened for training after nearly two months during nationwide locked down due to Coronavirus in Chandigarh.

sports

Updated on Nov 16, 2020 08:19 AM IST

Mumbai | ByRutvick Mehta

The clay too is greener on the other side

For Ankita Raina, who has been a professional tennis player since 2009, it’s odd to have experienced a new surface on the tour after more than a decade.

Ankita Raina in action.(Instagram/Ankita Raina)

sports

Updated on Nov 13, 2020 08:51 AM IST

Mumbai | ByRutvick Mehta

Art as sport: Can breakdancing benefit from its Olympic tag?

The IOC says it wants to make the Games more urban and more artistic. Breakers worry that going competitive could alter the philosophy at the heart of the street dance subculture.

Breakdancer Sergei Chernyshev of Russia in competition at the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympics. At the Games, points are awarded for technique, variety and interpretative and artistic quality.(IOC / OIS)

lifestyle

Updated on Oct 31, 2020 05:37 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByRutvick Mehta

Amaan Sandhu chases NBA dreams heading to US on basketball scholarship

The 6’11” teenager has trimmed down and taken rapid strides at the NBA academy in Greater Noida with an ambitious goal.

Generic view of a Spalding NBA basketball dropping into the hoop during the FIBA European Basketball Championship.(Getty Images)

sports

Updated on Oct 13, 2020 10:50 PM IST

Mumbai | ByRutvick Mehta

NBA: LeBron’s Lakers win it for Kobe

The Lakers played Game 6 in their original jersey, but ‘Black Mamba’ was on their minds all along.

The Los Angeles Lakers poses for a photo together after winning Game Six of the NBA Finals.(Getty Images)

sports

Updated on Oct 13, 2020 07:34 AM IST

Mumbai | ByRutvick Mehta

French Open final: Nadal eyes record, Djokovic ‘cold comfort’

Nadal - on clay, in a final, at the French Open - is a different beast altogether. Djokovic will be no easy prey though.

File images of Rafael Nadal (L) and Novak Djokovic.(Getty Images)

sports

Updated on Oct 11, 2020 08:25 AM IST

Mumbai | ByRutvick Mehta

French Open: Sofia Kenin finally romancing clay

Since 2017, when she became a top-200 player in the world, till the start of the French Open, Kenin has a 6-13 win-loss record in WTA tournaments played on clay, with eight opening-round defeats in 11 WTA clay court tournaments over the last three years.

USA’s Sofia Kenin in action.(Getty Images)

sports

Updated on Oct 10, 2020 09:48 AM IST

Mumbai | ByRutvick Mehta

French Open 2020: Against Rafael Nadal, conditions may favour Diego Schwartzman

Diego Schwartzman likely to provide the toughest challenge in the tournament yet to Rafael Nadal, the defending champion who otherwise seems to be cruising towards a 13th Roland Garros title.

On Friday, Schwartzman will play his maiden Major semi-final in his 25th appearance against Rafael Nadal.(Getty Images)

sports

Updated on Oct 09, 2020 09:20 AM IST

Mumbai | ByRutvick Mehta

Game, set and match: Newbies in French Open semi-finals

French Open 2020: Nadia Podoroska and Diego Schwartzman will play their maiden semifinal at the Rolland Garros

French Open 2020: Diego Schwartzman celebrates after winning the match point(Getty Images)

sports

Updated on Oct 08, 2020 09:24 AM IST

Mumbai | ByRutvick Mehta

In Paris, romancing the drop shot

The drop shot is a radical disruption of the engine that drives modern tennis - powerful, fast and hard rallies - it’s grace, softness and sleight of hand to encounter brute force. Where else but Paris to rekindle a shot that’s wrapped in romance?

Novak Djokovic plays the drop shot.(Getty Images)

sports

Updated on Oct 08, 2020 09:09 AM IST

Mumbai | ByRutvick Mehta

Prepared for all possibilities, India coach Dennerby on U-17 women’s World Cup postponement

The age-group global event was originally scheduled to be held in India in November this year but the Covid-19 pandemic forced FIFA to reschedule it to February-March 2021.

Thomas Dennerby, head coach of the India women’s U-17 football team.(Twitter/AIFF)

sports

Updated on Oct 06, 2020 08:42 PM IST

New Delhi, Hindustan Times | ByRutvick Mehta

Martina Trevisan reviving hunger post anorexia

The 26-year-old Trevisan’s case isn’t just one of a late bloomer, or a promising junior talent’s struggles at the big stage. During her teen years, she was diagnosed with anorexia; the eating disorder that compels people to lose weight by starving themselves or exercising way beyond the necessity.

IMartina Trevisan reacts after missing a shot against Netherlands' Kiki Bertens in the fourth round match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros Stadium.(AP)

sports

Updated on Oct 06, 2020 07:33 AM IST

Mumbai | ByRutvick Mehta

Underarm or underhanded? Spooning the serve at French Open

Like Mankading, the underarm serve is frowned upon under the unwritten and invisible “spirit” of the game. Both have history.

Alexander Bublik served an underarm ace in his first-round win over Gael Monfils.(Getty Images)

sports

Updated on Oct 01, 2020 02:11 PM IST

Mumbai | ByRutvick Mehta

Autumn in Paris: Get ready for fewer winners, sluggish rallies at French Open

It’s an odd sight for the first two days at the 2020 Roland Garros; players sporting body warmers, leggings and even jackets - usually worn during warm-ups - while playing and limited spectators largely wrapped in their hooded winter wear.

Victoria Azarenka reacts to the biting cold.(Reuters)

sports

Updated on Sep 29, 2020 08:09 AM IST

Mumbai | ByRutvick Mehta

Rohan Bopanna, living in bubbles, chasing slam glory

For the Indian tennis ace, the biggest distinction between the bubbles was the level of difficulty at the first step—nasal swab for the coronavirus test.

sports

Updated on Sep 27, 2020 09:10 AM IST

Mumbai | ByRutvick Mehta

After dip in form, Manika Batra looks to return stronger

Filled with “a sense of pride and honour” the moment she stood in front of the camera to receive her award virtually, Batra has a brief response to the people who have questioned her Khel Ratna nomination for the same 2018 achievements that earned her the Arjuna Award that year.

sports

Updated on Sep 18, 2020 07:14 PM IST

Mumbai | ByRutvick Mehta

“Leander was doing it when we were in diapers”

The Bryan brothers talk of the US Open, Osaka’s activism, the golden generation of doubles, and that old, old question: who invented the chest bump?

sports

Updated on Sep 15, 2020 09:08 PM IST

Mumbai | ByRutvick Mehta

With Dominic Thiem’s US Open triumph, tennis bridges a Major generation gap

Nadal, at 19 wins, pulled out due to the Covid-19 situation while Djokovic, world No.1 and expected to make this his 18th Slam win, was expelled in the fourth round after a ball he hit in anger struck a line judge.

Sep 13 2020; Flushing Meadows, New York, USA; Dominic Thiem of Austria celebrates with the championship trophy after his match against Alexander Zverev of Germany (not pictured) in the men's singles final match on day fourteen of the 2020 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY(USA TODAY Sports)

sports

Updated on Sep 15, 2020 07:31 AM IST

Hindustan Times, Mumbai | ByRutvick Mehta

Naomi Osaka is a great role model, says Bob Bryan

The identical twins felt surreal watching a Grand Slam final in a near-empty Arthur Ashe Stadium amid the pandemic and could only imagine the energy of the crowd adding to the ebb and flow of the topsy-turvy last set and tie-breaker of the Dominic Thiem-Alexander Zverev clash on Sunday.

Sep 12, 2020; Flushing Meadows, New York, USA; Naomi Osaka of Japan celebrates winning against Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in the women's singles final match on day 13 of the 2020 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports(USA TODAY Sports)

sports

Updated on Sep 15, 2020 07:28 AM IST

Hindustan Times, Mumbai | ByRutvick Mehta

Naomi Osaka’s battle to unmask racism to go on

The world’s highest-paid female athlete, Naomi Osaka, born in Japan and brought up in the US, used her popularity around the world and one of the biggest sporting stages to highlight racial injustice.

Naomi Osaka, of Japan, is driven away after posing for photographs at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020, in New York.(AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)(AP)

sports

Updated on Sep 14, 2020 06:13 AM IST

Hindustan Times, Mumbai | ByRutvick Mehta

Naomi Osaka finds calm with second US Open title

Unlike the drama around her maiden Grand Slam in 2018, the Japanese player coolly rallies from a set down to beat Azarenka for a second victory

Naomi Osaka of Japan kisses the U.S. Open trophy in celebration after winning her Women’s Singles final match against Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.(Getty Images)

sports

Updated on Sep 13, 2020 10:38 PM IST

Mumbai | ByRutvick Mehta

Dominic targets new theme in Slams with friendly foe Zverev

That wasn’t required in this US Open. The absence of Federer and Nadal and Djokovic’s fourth-round disqualification meant the red carpet was effectively rolled out for the GenNext to join the champions’ club.

Alexander Zverev, of Germany, reacts after defeating Pablo Carreno Busta, of Spain, during a men's semifinal match of the US Open tennis championships.(AP)

sports

Updated on Sep 13, 2020 10:49 AM IST

Mumbai | ByRutvick Mehta

Victoria Azarenka an image of grit in trouncing Serena Williams

Azarenka was at the peak of her prowess when injuries and a long-drawn custody battle over her son Leo, who was born in 2016, derailed her tennis career, but even in all that turmoil, she found a way to keep herself grounded.

Victoria Azarenka seeks her third singles Grand Slam title.(Getty Images)

sports

Updated on Sep 12, 2020 10:30 AM IST

Mumbai | ByRutvick Mehta

Thiem faces Medvedev in final before the final

With Novak Djokovic defaulted out of the tournament in the fourth round, Rafael Nadal pulling out due to the pandemic and Roger Federer due to a knee surgery, this US Open will present a new champion for the first time in six years.

sports

Updated on Sep 10, 2020 11:35 PM IST

Mumbai | ByRutvick Mehta

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Rutvick Mehta

A romantic of the ferocious Rafael Nadal forehand, Rutvick Mehta loves his tennis but has been covering various other sport since 2012. He writes for HT.

Preserved prawn shells, a Michelangelo fresco recast, an actual church, and a strand of hair at a coffee bar - take a quick tour of extreme devotion.

The left-handed player finishes runner-up in back-to-back hard court event in the US, regains his position as India’s top singles player.

The Spaniard’s first semi-final in five years at the ATP Finals ended in defeat, failing to serve out for the match in a 6-3, 6-7(4), 3-6 loss to the on-song Russian in London on Saturday night.

A new-look NorthEast Untied FC (NEUFC), helmed by Gerard Nus, who at 35 is the youngest coach ever in ISL, beat star-studded but 10-man Mumbai City 1-0 at the Tilak Maidan Stadium in Vasco, Goa, on Saturday.

Fijian hitman Roy Krishna, who was ATK’s top goal scorer with 15 goals last season, struck the all important goal after a 67 minute deadlock to give the all important three points for the green-and-maroon brigade.

Spanish coach wants to replicate his success with FC Goa though Covid-19 has hampered the build-up to a new season.

Eight cities—Delhi, Gurugram, Sonipat, Indore, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh and Raipur—will hold tournaments locally.

For Ankita Raina, who has been a professional tennis player since 2009, it’s odd to have experienced a new surface on the tour after more than a decade.

The IOC says it wants to make the Games more urban and more artistic. Breakers worry that going competitive could alter the philosophy at the heart of the street dance subculture.

The 6’11” teenager has trimmed down and taken rapid strides at the NBA academy in Greater Noida with an ambitious goal.

The Lakers played Game 6 in their original jersey, but ‘Black Mamba’ was on their minds all along.

Nadal - on clay, in a final, at the French Open - is a different beast altogether. Djokovic will be no easy prey though.

Since 2017, when she became a top-200 player in the world, till the start of the French Open, Kenin has a 6-13 win-loss record in WTA tournaments played on clay, with eight opening-round defeats in 11 WTA clay court tournaments over the last three years.

Diego Schwartzman likely to provide the toughest challenge in the tournament yet to Rafael Nadal, the defending champion who otherwise seems to be cruising towards a 13th Roland Garros title.

French Open 2020: Nadia Podoroska and Diego Schwartzman will play their maiden semifinal at the Rolland Garros

The drop shot is a radical disruption of the engine that drives modern tennis - powerful, fast and hard rallies - it’s grace, softness and sleight of hand to encounter brute force. Where else but Paris to rekindle a shot that’s wrapped in romance?

The age-group global event was originally scheduled to be held in India in November this year but the Covid-19 pandemic forced FIFA to reschedule it to February-March 2021.

Like Mankading, the underarm serve is frowned upon under the unwritten and invisible “spirit” of the game. Both have history.

It’s an odd sight for the first two days at the 2020 Roland Garros; players sporting body warmers, leggings and even jackets - usually worn during warm-ups - while playing and limited spectators largely wrapped in their hooded winter wear.

For the Indian tennis ace, the biggest distinction between the bubbles was the level of difficulty at the first step—nasal swab for the coronavirus test.

Filled with “a sense of pride and honour” the moment she stood in front of the camera to receive her award virtually, Batra has a brief response to the people who have questioned her Khel Ratna nomination for the same 2018 achievements that earned her the Arjuna Award that year.

The Bryan brothers talk of the US Open, Osaka’s activism, the golden generation of doubles, and that old, old question: who invented the chest bump?

Nadal, at 19 wins, pulled out due to the Covid-19 situation while Djokovic, world No.1 and expected to make this his 18th Slam win, was expelled in the fourth round after a ball he hit in anger struck a line judge.

The identical twins felt surreal watching a Grand Slam final in a near-empty Arthur Ashe Stadium amid the pandemic and could only imagine the energy of the crowd adding to the ebb and flow of the topsy-turvy last set and tie-breaker of the Dominic Thiem-Alexander Zverev clash on Sunday.

The world’s highest-paid female athlete, Naomi Osaka, born in Japan and brought up in the US, used her popularity around the world and one of the biggest sporting stages to highlight racial injustice.

Unlike the drama around her maiden Grand Slam in 2018, the Japanese player coolly rallies from a set down to beat Azarenka for a second victory

That wasn’t required in this US Open. The absence of Federer and Nadal and Djokovic’s fourth-round disqualification meant the red carpet was effectively rolled out for the GenNext to join the champions’ club.

Azarenka was at the peak of her prowess when injuries and a long-drawn custody battle over her son Leo, who was born in 2016, derailed her tennis career, but even in all that turmoil, she found a way to keep herself grounded.

With Novak Djokovic defaulted out of the tournament in the fourth round, Rafael Nadal pulling out due to the pandemic and Roger Federer due to a knee surgery, this US Open will present a new champion for the first time in six years.

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