Indian Tennis in 2017: One step forward, two steps back

News Gateway / Indian Tennis in 2017  / New Delhi /  

Indian tennis has relied upon performances of doubles players when it comes to sitting down and analysing the year gone by. It normally features the usually consistent Sania Mirza, big serving Rohan Bopanna and Leander Paes pushing boundaries even at an age when players are involved in coaching activity or swap the tennis racket for commentary microphones. Then there are the likes of Purav Raja and Divij Sharan who provide short-lived reasons to cheer but can’t always keep that flame going for long. And yet, in 2017, the go-to names and faces of Indian tennis couldn’t provide enough reasons to celebrate for the fans. Against the disappointment of the veterans and the “doubles specialists”, the youngsters got up and made a name for themselves with strong performances and some eye catching, or eye popping, results.

In a year of one step forward and two steps back, the doubles players didn’t have the greatest of times but the youngsters punched above their weights. However, their progress and willingness to go the next level wasn’t particularly aided by the administrators to leave Indian tennis at the same juncture it is usually at by the time a season closes.

Rohan Bopanna is only the fourth Indian to win a Grand Slam title. (Source: AP File)

Bopanna ends long wait

At one end, Bopanna ended his majors drought by winning the French Open mixed doubles title back in June alongside Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski. With the win on the Parisian clay, Bopanna became the fourth Indian to win a Grand Slam title. The closest he had come to bagging a title was in 2010 at the US Open where he reached the men’s doubles final alongside Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi from Pakistan. Since then, he had come close twice but stopped in the semifinals of Wimbledon in 2013 and 2015. The title at Roland Garros was preceded by his fourth Masters 1000 title – in Monte Carlo. Thus highlighting the giant strides he had made on a surface that was not his favourite and not entirely suitable for his big serving and volley game.

Sania suffered a knee injury and has already pulled out of the 2018 Australian Open. (Source: AP)

Sania’s shuffle

On the other end, Mirza was affected by multiple team changes enforced by injuries to her partners. Split with Martina Hingis after stupendous 2015 and 2016 saw the Hyderabadi climb to top of the rankings but by the end of the season, she had a single title and dropped outside the top-10. Through the year she played alongside Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Barbora Strycova, Monica Niculescu, Kirsten Flipkens, CoCo Vandeweghe, Yaroslava Shvedova, Andrea Hlavackova and Shuai Peng. She began the year with a title in Brisbane alongside Mattek-Sands but made only two more finals in the year – in Miami and Sydney (alongside Strycova) before closing out the year early. She achieved the most consistent set of results while partnering Peng with whom she reached the semifinals of US Open, Beijing, Wuhan and Cincinnati. Amid all the injuries around her, Sania suffered a knee injury of her own and has already pulled out of the 2018 Australian Open.

As he took his tally of male doubles partners to 118, Leander Paes bagged five Challenger titles. (Source: File)

The battle

Even at 44, Paes strived and battled on court. His impact wasn’t the same at the highest level but to keep accumulating the required points, he played Challenger level tournaments and finished the season with two trophies to his name. At the Slams, he couldn’t go beyond the second round in men’s doubles and quarters in mixed doubles. As he took his tally of male doubles partners to 118, Paes bagged five Challenger titles.

Away from the loud noise that the biggies generate, Divij Sharan quietly went about his business and got key results. As a result of a title at the ATP 250 level, two finals and playing all four Grand Slams in the year – with best of third round at French Open – he became India’s second highest ranked doubles player at No 47 in the world. Even though he had to split with regular partner Purav Raja, to reach main draws directly, the results come in the right direction for the 31-year-old Delhite.

Yuki returned from injury that had put him below 500 in the ATP rankings but worked his way to 114. (Source: File)

The stars

However, the season belonged to Ramkumar Ramanathan followed by Yuki Bhambri – both of whom kept displacing the other for the No 1 spot – with Sumit Nagal ending the season on a high. In a season which saw two headline grabbing results by Indians, Yuki stunned world number 22 Frenchman Gael Monfils at the Citi Open in Washington and Ramkumar triumphed over world number eight Dominic Thiem at Antalya Open in Turkey.

For a country that has a relationship with Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon organisers to guide future talents, it hosted just two Challenger events – Pune and Bengaluru – both won by Indians. The disappointingly low number of events which work as a stepping stone for youngsters to go from the amateur level to professional and get the required competition without spending exorbitantly highlights the reluctance of those within AITA at changing the status quo of Indian tennis. This despite the results that the youngsters produce.

Yuki returned from injury that had put him below 500 in the ATP rankings but worked his way to 114 thanks to consistent efforts such as the title in Pune Challenger. Nagal started the season at 356 but jumped close to 90 places aided significantly by the Bengaluru Open win – his first Challenger title – to close out the year at 223.

Finally, Ramkumar emerged as the pick of the lot among Indian singles players. Pune Challenger final pit India’s two highest ranked players – Ramkumar against Yuki – with the latter emerging victorious. He also reached the final of Challenger tournaments in Tallahassee and Winnetka, Illionis. The 23-year-old’s glory moment was the punch-above-his-weight second round win against Thiem on the grass of Antalya.

Among the women, Zeel Desai and Karman Kaur Thandi continued to provide the hope for the future without any major results to speak of. At the same time, Ankita Raina has remained steady. With other sporting bodies, like Badminton Association of India, giving support to the players, both financially and professionally, AITA has not followed suit. For an expensive game such as tennis where players are needed to be on the road for long periods, the Indian tennis authorities haven’t backed the players by providing full time coaches or financial assistance. On the other hand, Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA) has been able to raise funds to host tournaments which has seen the Chennai Open shift to Pune. MSLTA hosted six women’s events, including a WTA tournament in December, apart from the men’s Challenger and a Davis Cup tie against New Zealand in February.

Speaking of Davis Cup, for the fourth consecutive year, India failed to qualify for the World Group after going down 2-3 in a thriller to Canada in Edmonton. Away from the court, drama continued in Indian tennis – as it does each year. Following the appointment of Mahesh Bhupathi as non-playing captain, Paes was dropped to the bench despite being called up for the Uzbekistan tie in Bengaluru. What followed was an ugly match involving the former doubles pairing with Bhupathi publicly disclosing the conversation with Paes and a case of different from versions from both parties. In the end, Paes was not even in the squad for the Canada tie and will have to keep waiting for his record moment of becoming player with most doubles wins in the team event.