It has been a thoughtful move to provide coaching and fitness support to India’s doubles specialists.
There has been a remarkable jump in the success rate among a bunch of players; it went further up with Yuki Bhambri winning his maiden ATP doubles title with Lloyd Harris of South Africa in Mallorca, Spain.
One of the coaches, the experienced M. Balachandran who is working diligently with support from Rohan Bopanna, currently in Europe, was happy to drive the progress.
“It was a big week for Yuki. The first time partners combined so well that they beat four established doubles teams, some of whom have won Grand Slam titles. To win a tournament on grass without losing a set was fantastic. Only one set went to the tie-break,” said Balu, as he is fondly known to everyone in the tennis circle for more than 40 years.
Pleased with Yuki
He was particularly pleased with the professional attitude of Yuki.
“We all know that Yuki is a fabulous player. He likes to work hard and improves with every match. And he likes to get better in every department of his game. He should be soon in the top-50 of doubles. I will not be surprised if Yuki has a Grand Slam title against his name in the next two years,” said Balu.
Having worked with Yuki earlier in April in Munich and watching him and Saketh Myneni make it to the semifinals of the ATP Tour event, Balu was stunned to see the improvement in Yuki when he watched him again in the grass court circuit of Europe in June.
“From then to now, there is a huge improvement in Yuki as a doubles player. I saw him in the Nottingham Challenger two weeks ago, and then at the Queen’s when Yuki and Saki qualified and lost to Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek in a close match. They worked for about a week, and we focused on the returns and volleys for Yuki,” observed Balu.
“In Nottingham, all our players were there. I worked with Sriram Balaji and Divij Sharan during the Surbiton Challenger,” said Balu.
Sponsorship
The doubles program, brought about by the Pune Metropolitan District Tennis Association (PDMTA) with KPIT and Avendus Capitals as the sponsors with a broad budget of about ₹1.5 crore, had started with the pre-season training camp in December.
A bunch of coaches — Jeff Coetzee, John Farrington and Julian Knowles, apart from Balu and physios Kiran Kumar and Abhimanyu Singh — has been working with the players.
“This year, we have had a lot of success. Almost everyone has got a Challenger title now. Balaji and Jeevan had a good run to the final of the ATP Tour event in Pune. They won a round at the Australian Open. Yuki and Saki made two ATP Tour semifinals.
“Balaji and Jeevan made the ATP Tour semifinals in Marrakech, Morocco. All those who were part of the programme have shown better results. Most of them have reached their career best doubles rank this year.
“Purav Raja and Divij dropped, but all others, Anirudh Chandrasekar, Balaji, Saketh and Yuki have got to their best doubles ranking. This programme has done a world of good to everybody,” said Balu.
Motivation for all
With success, there is a lot of motivation not only for the players but the coaches and physios, to tune further for greater success.
“Yuki winning a Tour title now will motivate Saketh, Jeevan and Balaji, as they are close to it. It is easy for them to believe that ATP Tour title is within reach. Yuki is ranked 58 now. He will move into top-50 soon. So, top-50 becomes reachable. The belief will come into all our players,” said Balu.
Even though he is busy coaching at the Rohan Bopanna Academy in Bengaluru, Balu was taken on the tour by Bopanna for a few weeks, even before the doubles program. Having worked with Prajnesh Gunneswaran, among others, Balu was happy to note the current developments.
Great move
“Rohan took me to Tel Aviv, which gave me a good insight into top-level tennis, doubles in particular. Luckily for me, Rohan and Matwe Middelkoop won the tournament that week. I also had a chance to watch Novak Djokovic practise, warm-up and play matches from close.
“It was a great move by Rohan to take me there, as the exposure has helped me a lot. I know what is going on. Talking to Rohan, while watching Yuki and Saki play the main draw of Queen’s, I got to know the finer points of doubles. Listening to Rohan’s views and insights is a tremendous experience.
“When he agrees to my views, my confidence level goes up. Even during his matches, we make eye contact, and my inputs are well received. Later, Rohan acknowledges them as valid points. I have expressed my thanks many times, but I thank him again for trusting me to deliver at this level. Luckily for me, every time I have travelled, the results have been good,” said Balu.
Ranked World No. 12 in doubles, the 43-year-old Bopanna is keen to win any title. It should be exciting to see how he combines with defending champion Matthew Ebden in Wimbledon.
For sure, more Indian players will draw our attention with their performances, as the season progresses.
