Moldovan tennis player Dmitrii Baskov has been hailed as an Indian hero after joining a campaign to feed Ahmedabad's poor, who are struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Davis Cup player arrived in India in January to visit a tennis academy before the advancing pandemic prevented him from returning home. Dmitrii, 25, once a hitting partner for Wimbledon champion Simona Halep, has since been helping out by packaging food for the needy in Ahmedabad.

He is among a team packing bread, rice and other dishes at the Ace Tennis Academy, destined for the city's slums and containment zones. "My friend Pramesh Modi mentioned this [idea of feeding the poor] and I said yes, sounds great and the next day we did it and it continued day after day," said Dmitrii. "He is an Indian hero and could be a role model for a number of Indians who have not come out of their houses to even help out in one way or the other," said Mitul Parikh, who packs food alongside Dmitrii.

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India cricketer Krunal Pandya, 29, Instagrammed a fun video, enjoying of a unique version of table tennis with his brother, Hardik in their room.

With their double bed forming a table and a rolled up blanket playing the role of a net, the two brothers are seen using their hands as racquets as they play TT with a soft ball (screengrab above). "#PandyaBros in action in a different sport. @hardikpandya93 and I are always competitive with each other. Who do you think won this round?," Krunal captioned his post that got nearly 40,000 views within a few hours.

 

 

 

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#PandyaBros in action in a different sport 😏 @hardikpandya93 and I are always competitive with each other 🤪 Who do you think won this round?

A post shared by Krunal Pandya (@krunalpandya_official) onApr 23, 2020 at 5:00am PDT

Interestingly, former India pacer Munaf Patel replied with a cheeky comment: "No cheating, KP please."

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Two young girls in Italy took the lockdown game to a whole new level by playing tennis from neighbouring buildings.

The girls in Liguarian town of Finale Ligure managed a 12-shot rally in the 24-second video. The video was posted on Facebook last Friday by a local tennis club where the two are members.

Two young girls in Italy play tennis across their rooftops https://t.co/o0paauxGFZ pic.twitter.com/YGNiviMit5

— Reuters (@Reuters) April 21, 2020

Naturally, a few balls during the practice session did not make it across and bounced down into a private road below where the girls' fathers put them in plastic bags their daughters had affixed to the end of fishing poles.

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The new chair of the association that runs men’s tennis wants to share out wealth more evenly

Retirement property has a reputation for being a rip off, but several large operators claim to have reinvented the model. The FT's Money Mentor columnist Lindsay Cook joins Claer Barrett to discuss the issues. Next up, is your mobile phone a drain on your finances? Guy Anker from MoneySavingExpert tells us how. And finally, listeners hear from the FT's Rich People's Problems experts about the controversy surrounding his local tennis club.

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Daria Gavrilova received comfort from her opponent Aleksandra Krunić after suffering from a thigh injury, in the second set of the French Open on Wednesday.

Controversial tennis bad boy Nick Kyrgios has given a glimpse of his softer side in a hilarious interview with a budding young reporter during the rain affected Queen's Club Championship.

The disgraceful lack of coverage of Barty's first round game at Wimbledon  against China's Zheng Saisai was called out as Australia's 'spoilt brat' Kyrgios' game was aired.

The 24-year-old was spotted at the Dog & Fox Pub in Wimbledon last night until around 11pm just hours ahead of today's game.

Nick Kyrgios crashed out of both the singles and mixed doubles competitions at Wimbledon in the last 24 hours.

EXCLUSIVE: Yesterday, Kyrgios lost in the mixed doubles alongside partner Desirae Krawczyk before he flirted with her in the press conference, saying, 'We've got a club set up, it is going to be outrageous'.

Matthew Syed, who represented Great Britain in table tennis and now works as a journalist, claimed Kyrgios, 24, puts on a carefree public persona to excuse his own shortcomings

The bad boy of tennis can add his latest row to the showreel after he smashed his racket in a strop before refusing to shake the hand of the chair umpire Fergus Murphy.

Usually when Nick Kyrgios is creating headlines it can be for controversial reasons. But tennis's 'bad boy' was at the centre of a feel-good moment during his straight sets victory over Norbert Gombas.

Australian tennis bad boy Nick Kyrgios has shut down a spectator who attempted to heckle him during a recent training session.

The out-of-sorts Australian tennis star was beaten in the first round of the Canadian Open by Briton Kyle Edmund who closed out a 6-3 6-4 victory in 67 minutes.

The Australian tennis star could face suspension after calling an umpire a 'f***ing tool' and appearing to spit in his direction at the Cincinnati Masters on Wednesday.

Tennis veteran Sam Groth has claimed Nick Kyrgios is too big a 'commodity' to lose as the 24-year-old faces suspension of his outburst at the Cincinnati Masters.

He's the controversial Australian tennis star who is rarely out of the headlines.

Nick Kyrgios has taken issue with comments made by tennis greats about his on-court antics and the state of his mental health ahead of his first round US Open match.

Nick Kyrgios delivered the unexpected 'tweener' lob at the heated doubles round in front of gasping spectators at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Saturday.

Former Australian Davis Cup captain Pat Rafter says he can't understand why Nick Kyrgios hasn't already been suspended following a series of ugly tantrums this year.

The 24-year-old Australian was given a six-month probation period and faces a lengthy suspension if he doesn't promise to be on his best behaviour for six months.

The pair have been engaged in a war of words since Kyrgios was infamously disqualified from his match against Ruud at the Rome Masters in May.

Kyrgios will still be on his six-month ATP probation at the season-opening grand slam as part of the punishment from his meltdown during a match in Cincinnati in September.

Kyrgios is currently under probation by the ATP - the sport's governing body - following a meltdown at a tournament in Cincinnati in August, but the Australian No. 2 had a more positive outlook on Wednesday.

The 24-year-old admitted during a post-match interview at Friday's ATP Cup-opening in Brisbane that his hometown of Canberra remains front of mind.

It's time for another Hot or Not as Sportsmail's Riath Al-Samarrai reveals what's been making him feel warm and what's left him with a chill this week. Nick Kyrgios (pictured) has shown he has a good side.

Nick Kyrgios has no plans on ditching his controversial under-arm serve after using it with success once more at the ATP Cup in Sydney.

Kyrgios hasn't made a quarter-final at a major in five years, with just four fourth-round appearances since his final-eight showing at the 2015 Australian Open.

The elite athlete revealed he has stopped eating meat and dairy in a post online about the devastating impact of the bushfires on the Australia's wildlife.

The Australian No.1 also sampled some local Mexican cuisine with the female tennis player on Thursday two days after retiring hurt from an ATP World Tour first-round match in Acapulco.

The Australian tennis star shared a photo of boxes of food on Saturday as he did his part to help some of the thousands of families struggling financially.

Former tennis prodigy Monique Belovukovic, appeared in court for sentencing after she pleaded guilty to driving with an illicit drug present in her bloodstream/oral fluids last month.

The tennis ace, 37, who is presently competing in the US Open at Flushing Meadow, New York, revealed she finds it 'really kind of painful' to leave the toddler she shares with husband Alexis Ohanian.

Royal fans have gone wild over a video of the Duchess of Sussex waving to the crowd as she watched Serena Williams play in US Tennis Open final in New York on Friday.

Tennis champion Bianca Andreescu beamed as she celebrated her historic win at the U.S. Open in New York City on Monday, two days after she beat out Serena Williams in the final.

The tennis pro, 37, was glammed up to the max in a slinky black dress for the Citi Taste of Tennis at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York on Thursday.

INTERVIEW BY KIERAN JACKSON: Tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou speaks passionately about what needs to change in tennis, and about the futures of Kyrgios, Serena Williams and Coco Gauff.

The Bulgarian tennis star, 28, defended his garish outfit, saying he didn't want to wear anything 'vanilla' and that he'd collaborated with kit sponsor Nike on the colourful tracksuit.

Serena Williams posted an ingenious social media clip on Wednesday in which she simulated a tennis game on grass against herself.

Fallon Sherrock said it was 'incredible' to have her latest PDC World Darts Championship win tweeted about by Billie Jean King.

The last great tennis player to emerge, incongruously, from an upbringing that took place largely in a mountainous ski area was one of the greatest ever: Novak Djokovic.

The Juventus forward posted a video to Instagram of himself and Djokovic attempting several run-ups and leaps as onlookers find it all rather amusing.

Rally for Relief will take place at Rod Laver Arena at Melbourne Park on January 15 to raise money for bushfires that have killed 25 people and destroyed nearly 1,900 homes.

Novak Djokovic has been spotted in Marbella after returning to training on Monday amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

Dustin Brown admitted that it was a 'surreal experience' to return to the tennis court during the coronavirus pandemic as he took part in the Tennis Point Exhibition Series in Germany.

World No 354 Benjamin Hassan returned to the tennis court on Friday wearing a face mask as he took part in the Tennis Point Exhibition Series in Germany amid the coronavirus pandemic.  

Hasan Hasanov, 58, was pictured being spoken to by a royal bodyguard after he took the picture with his iPhone on Court One at Wimbledon last Thursday.

MATTHEW LAMBERT looks back at the match that defined the careers of two supreme athletes and raised the bar for an entire sport - The Rafa Nadal vs Roger Federer Wimbledon final of 2008.