India´s joint number one doubles player Rohan Bopanna has said that he and his Davis Cup team mates are taking stand not only for themselves but also for the future of their junior players.

India’s joint number one doubles player Rohan Bopanna has said that he and his Davis Cup team mates are taking stand not only for themselves but also for the future of their junior players.

Some of India’s top tennis players including Bopanna and former singles number one Somdev Devvarman have warned the All India Tennis Association that they will represent India in the Davis Cup only if their demands are accepted.

Two of the major demands emailed by players to AITA are the removal of non-playing captain S P Misra and national coach Nandan Bal.

Bopanna said it’s not like that he has a war with the tennis authorities which he wants to win at any cost and feel good about that but he wants to see tennis grow in India. The world number 12 doubles player also said that he is not making demands because he has attained a star status now but he wants the betterment of sport in his country.

The 32-year-old stated in a recent interview, “We are looking for betterment of tennis. It is not about whether you can point out your demands only when you have achieved something. At the end of the day, we are there to make the sport grow and the youngsters benefit from it.”

Bopanna also said that he wants a system in India which is similar to US and Europe, where federations try to facilitate players in every possible way they can.

The Indian player stated, “We want youngsters doing well and coming up through great systems like they have in the US or Europe where the Federations support all the players and help them in a big way.”

He added, “We have to wait and see. We have not heard anything from the AITA. I think when somebody makes some points it is important. Nobody writes an e-mail without importance attached to it.”

Bopanna became a part of one of the biggest controversies of Indian tennis history when he and Mahesh Bhupathi refused to partner Leander Paes at the London Olympics last year.

Bopanna and Bhupathi said either they would play together or they would not at all. AITA had to bow to their demands at the end and Paes was forced to partner low ranked Vishnu Vardhan. AITA later put a two year ban on Bopanna and Bhupathi from representing India at any level but they got a stay from the court against that decision.

source: http://www.tennisworldusa.org / Home> Tennis Stories / by Talha Asif / January 04th, 2013