The phoneline goes blank for a few prolonged seconds. Having thought the answer through, Rohan Bopanna responds with a hushed ‘yes’. Have you finally stepped out of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi’s shadow, he was asked. “But more than that,” Bopanna is quick to add, “I feel I have matured as a player, which has helped.”

For close to a decade, Indian tennis fans have often wondered if there was a successor to Paes and Bhupathi on the doubles court. Monday’s ATP rankings and this year’s Wimbledon proves that Bopanna, now ranked fifth — higher than the veteran Indians — could just be that man.

“It seems so,” says Enrico Piperno, the former Davis Cup coach for India. “At 33, he is still young on the doubles circuit and has still many years ahead of him. He has been injury-free for most part of his career. Also, Rohan has worked hard to reach this level. Really hard.”

The Karnataka man has made some notable changes to his game to reach this level. By quickening his service action, Bopanna has ensured that the opponent gets less time to react. And earned his nickname — Bofors. With a relatively low toss of the ball followed by a smooth, quick connect, he also generates more pace and accuracy. Consequently, he has been able to hold his service games with ease.

No longer one trick

Apart from just his booming serves, Bopanna has also, over time, become more agile on the court. This, then, allows him to hunt down balls and return them with sharp angles, traits found in the best doubles specialists. To achieve this, he says, Bopanna was forced to cut down on bread and sweets, while also working over time with both Yash Pandey and Scott Davidoff, his physical trainer and coach respectively. Pandey was instrumental in chiselling his physique, Davidoff turned his net play around.

source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home / by Mihir Vasavda / Mumbai – Tuesday, July 09th, 2013