“It has been a terrific year,” says Indian tennis player Rohan Bopanna, summing up his performance in 2015.
With four doubles titles, reaching the finals of the ATP World Tour Finals and finishing the year in the top 10, 2015 was Bopanna’s most successful year on the circuit so far. Doubles record-holder Mike Bryan had high praise for him as well. “Rohan is probably the hottest player of the tournament. He’s doing everything well. He’s got big weapons,” he said at the O2 in London. And the 35-year old Indian credits it in a large way to his Romanian men’s doubles partner Florin Mergea.
“I’m glad I have managed to find the right partner with Florin. Even though we started in April, we managed to qualify for London (ATP Finals). It’s great, the way we have played together as a team and doing well in major tournaments ,” Bopanna told Firstpost in an exclusive telephonic chat.
Bopanna and Mergea first teamed up at Casablanca in April and ended the year with a 31-16 record, including two titles from four finals.
Keeping up this successful momentum, is comes as no surprise that the Indo-Romanian pair intends to continue their partnership in 2016, and Bopanna is very optimistic about extending their record. “We are sticking together as a team and this time we will start in January itself. As a team, we have a lot to grow as we work together and that is a good sign.”
“The way we are playing together, we have a good chance at winning every tournament we enter. As a player, it is a great feeling to go into a tournament knowing that you can beat everyone out there, knowing that you can win the tournament and not just go there to perform,” says Bopanna.
But would 2016 begin with India’s only ATP tournament, the Chennai Open in January? “We are still deciding on our 2016 calendar since we have had such a long year.We finished only a few days ago and we are still deciding whether to play in the first week of the year or not. It is great to have a home tournament but we are not sure if we want to give ourselves another week off and start the season in Sydney,” Bopanna said.
Speaking of a long year, the tennis season may be over but the second season of the popular International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) is coming up. Bopanna is part of Indian Aces, who won the inaugural season and is looking forward to defend the title.
“It’s great that the IPTL is having a second season and since we won it last year, all the teams are looking forward to taking us down and I am looking forward to the challenge. I have spoken to my team mates and we are all ready, it’s going to be a lot of fun like last year,” he adds.
The Indian Aces will boast of the services of Rafael Nadal this year, after having had Roger Federer on the team last year. Soon, Bopanna might be in a unique position to tell us who is the better team mate, maybe? “If I do get to play with Rafa, then let’s see, in a few weeks we can take that call,” he laughs.
Bopanna is also all praise for IPTL and Mahesh Bhupati.
“They (Federer and Nadal) are exceptional players and you learn a lot especially when you are playing with them. I’m really looking forward to have Rafa in our team and it is going to be fantastic not only for us as players but also for the fans. It’s great for tennis that Mahesh (Bhupathi) has got all the top players playing in the league. I think tennis in Asia is definitely going to grow and this is the right way forward,” he says.
The popularity of tennis in Asia, and especially in India, has been on the rise in the past few years as was evident from the turnout in Delhi during IPTL 2015. “Fans are excited to see their favorite players play in their country and that makes a big a difference. We have many youngsters come out and support their favorite players. As players it is great to see so many people come out and support tennis. The growth of tennis will improve if we have these leagues like these,” he adds.
But it’s not just the fans that have benefited greatly from the tournament, it gives a boost to aspiring tennis players as well. Bopanna’s advice to these youngsters is simple — commitment and discipline.
“It is nice to see that lot of youngsters want to pick up the sport and become professional players and I think that having IPTL, especially with all these top players coming in, it is going to boost the confidence of a young player coming up. When I meet youngsters today, they want to get into the professional circuit and aim to break into the top. So whenever I can, I try to advise them that tennis is a full time commitment with a lot of discipline involved.”
And which young, Indian player is Bopanna’s pick to watch out for? “Yuki Bhambri is playing great tennis right now and has cracked into the top 100. The way he has been playing, he has every chance of reaching the top 50 and he is definitely a player to watch out for in 2016.”
Speaking of 2016, it is also the year of the Olympics. But Bopanna, who partnered with Mahesh Bhupathi at the 2012 London Olympics, is not thinking about that just yet. “It is a great feeling to represent India at the Olympics again, but we have three Grand Slams before it even comes into play. So I have to take it one step at a time cannot think of too far ahead.”
source: http://www.firstpost.com / FirstPost / Home> F.Sports> Latest News> Sports News / by Zenia D’Cunha / December 02nd, 2015
