Rohan Bopanna Says India Has No Top Singles Players Due to Lack of Federation Support

Tennis – Bopanna says enough changes in doubles already; no further required

Tennis – Indian doubles tennis specialist Rohan Bopanna says that Indians do better in doubles as compared to singles due to lack of supoort from the Indian tennis federation. Bopanna analyzed, “The main reason for the lack of singles players is the federation: we do not have support, when players decide to turning pro, and travel, they have no sponsor. The federation does not support us, we make a lot more effort to emerge because it is not easy, indeed it is almost impossible to keep up with the Challengers through which you’re forced to start: a player gets to 26, 27 years without having enough experience, and then switches over to doubles if he still has the passion and desire for tennis. When this situation will change we will see the results. This is another of the reasons why I opened the academy, I would begin to cultivate the players the basics, because we have a system with which they can grow. We also have no tournaments: if you exclude Chennai which is part of the main tour, there are maybe two Challenger and a couple of Futures, and gaining experience in India is very difficult. In Spain, France, Italy, there are smaller tournaments every week, so it is easier to gain experience without having to travel too.”

Bopanna is also not happy with the changes introduced in doubles in order to quicken the game. “I think they have already introduced enough. Even just the super tie-break in the deciding set was a major change. The format is already fairly rapid, the matches are shorter, with the exception of Slams. It’s fun to introduce new concepts, but the format is already so fast. Personally I would prefer to play three sets normal, but as players we are required to adapt to what is being proposed.”

The Banglorean, who was picked by Davis Cup captain Mahesh Bhupathi over Leander Paes, says Bhupathi has been instrumental in his growth as a player. “Certainly playing with Mahesh Bhupathi helped me a lot: having a companion of my own nationality was good. I did well at the beginning of my career with Qureshi, we obtained excellent results (final at the US Open in 2010), but playing with Mahesh taught me a lot. He had a lot of experience, played twice at the highest level for many years gave me a great hand to understand my game, understand how to position myself well on the field and deal with new situations for me. The fact that it was the Indian was a great part, get along off the field helps to perform better in the game.”

The 37-year-old will partner with Pablo Cuevas for the Monte Carlo Masters starting tomorrow and is currently ranked 24th in the ATP Doubles Rankings.

source: http://www.tennisworldusa.org / Tennis World / Tennis World Magazine / Home> News> Indian Tennis / by Prakash / April 17th, 2017

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