Paris Olympics: Balaji has explosive game, we can’t be written off just like that, says Bopanna

Aging like a fine wine, Rohan Bopanna is all fired up for his last hurrah at the Olympic Games.

Not the one who would rail against circumstances or crib about not having the strongest of partners, the veteran Indian tennis player says his comrade N Sriram Balaji has enough firepower and the scratch pairing is potent enough to test the big teams in Paris.

Had Bopanna been ranked outside the top-10, India would not have any representation in the men’s doubles event at the Paris Olympics, starting July 26.

The 44-year-old had to make a choice between Balaji and Yuki Bhambri and after consulting his coaches — Scott Davidoff and Balachandran Mannikkath — he eventually settled for the more “athletic and agile” Balaji.

“I really believe that when we go out there, we genuinely have a chance to win every match, whoever we play against. It’s not like we’re just going to be written off, I feel,” Bopanna told PTI in an exclusive interview.

Bopanna has reason to have that confidence in Balaji’s ability to rise to the occasion. He had a chance to test Balaji at the French Open where Bopanna was pushed along with Matthew Ebden by the Tamil Nadu player and his Mexican partner Miguel Reyes-Varela.

Not only this, Balaji had a consistent run on the ATP Tour where he scalped a few big names such as Americans Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek — both top-10 players — at the Houston ATP 250 event on clay.

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With his German partner Andre Begemann, Balaji also defeated Austria’s top-50 players Alexander Erler and Lucas Miedler.

Balaji also showed that he can quickly adapt to conditions when he was asked to do the singles duty during the Davis Cup tie against Pakistan on grass. The rival was not of the highest quality but Balaji showed that he was willing to come out of his comfort zone if the team demands.

“The idea is to go prepared, at least believe in as a team. That is what we’re trying to do. With Bala, he definitely has the firepower to do well,” Bopanna said.

He also gave his reason for picking Balaji over Bhambri.

“I felt Balaji, depending on the surface we’re playing with, which is the clay, would have been the ideal partner. Currently, even if you look at (Matthew) Ebden, who I’m playing with, he’s somebody who’s more agile, more explosive on that surface.

“And for clay, especially, I need a partner who would suit me better in terms of going by the surface. If it was a hard court or a grass court, maybe Yuki would have been the preferred choice.” Bopanna though admitted that it was not an obvious but a difficult choice since he has not played with either of them on the Tour.

“Balaji can move well on both flanks? I think he is, given on the clay court, he’s definitely more athletic, given the two of us. Between me and Bala, I definitely need a partner who’s more athletic, more agile.

“Bala has similar capabilities as Matthew. Bala would be fast, quick, swift like Ebden. But Ebden comes with a lot of experience and Bala hasn’t played at that level much.” It also means that Bopanna has to be leader of the team all the time. On the Tour he has Ebden to pull the team out of the pit if Bopanna is having an off day. In the past Olympics, he had illustrious teammates like Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza.

In Paris, it will Bopanna, who has to do the heavy lifting. But did he have any choice? “There is nobody currently in the country who has played that kind of experience as Matthew Ebden. So, no matter who I played with on the country, it would be the same scenario.” Due to the considerable gap in their rankings in the past, Bopanna could never play with Balaji on the Tour. But they have planned to compete in a couple of ATP events, starting with Hamburg Open, to prepare for the Olympics.

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“This is my time at home basically to rest, recover and then come back into the circuit. But I thought it’ll be nice to get to know whoever the partner I’m playing with.Try and work and at least try and prepare better than what we have done before maybe.” As the discussion veered over Balaji’s game and how he compliments him, Bopanna had a good things to say about his partner.

“His serve is definitely a big strength. He’s got a powerful shot there. Which definitely helps in the doubles game. No question on it.” Bopanna also said that they don’t just want to show up and get back. They consider themselves worthy of a medal.

“Every athlete who goes into Olympics wants to win a medal, right? There is 100 percent that belief. Everybody wants to do better than the previous time. There’s no question on it, right? That’s how life is. You want to do better. You want to keep going higher and higher.

“Nobody can tell you what can happen. But the preparation going into the games is what really matters.

“This time I was even listening that they have a fantastic medical team there to help the recovery, help the sports science, which is the first time ever, which is amazing. This is what is the progress already for what athletes can get and really see and make a difference,” he signed off.

Tennis events at Paris Olympics start on July 27.