Indian tennis system not designed to produce quality players: Somdev Devvarman

Known as the ‘Happy Slam’, the Australian Open got off to a rather disappointing start for the Indians, yet again, with all the four singles players — Yuki Bhambri, Ramkumar Ramanathan, Ankita Raina and Prajnesh Gunneswaran — knocked out in the qualifying rounds.

Former Indian tennis star, Somdev Devvarman, came down heavily on the federation — All India Tennis Association — and the system for failing to make drastic changes to overturn the rough patch even as the future of Indian tennis continues to look bleak.

With no new youngster in the mix, hopes are once again pinned on Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza in the doubles category to fly the country’s flag high Down Under.

Also Read | Prajnesh exits Australian Open Qualifiers after second round defeat

“We have had this conversation for years now as to why it's happening and the answer remains the same. The system is not designed to produce players in a methodical and professional manner. There are the one-off talents that come every decade or so, mostly because of their own efforts and the country just piggybacks on their success. Unfortunately, that’s the reality of it and unless the system changes it's probably not wise of us to expect miraculous results,” he remarked during a media interaction prior to the Australian Open.

Somdev, who had reached the second round of the Australian Open in 2013 where he lost a tough five-setter to Poland’s Jerzy Janowicz, recalled memories of the tournament being one of the most fun events to compete at as a player.

He has now taken up the role of mentoring a few juniors including Sumit Nagal and Kamran Thandi and termed the upcoming Davis Cup tie against Denmark in India as a tough one for the hosts.

“The best of three sets format is probably more beneficial for us because we don’t have guys right now who are consistently playing five-setters. It’s more possible for us to get a favourable result though the tie against Denmark is going to be tough.”

Speaking about the year’s first Grand Slam making headlines for all the wrong reasons over the past few days, Somdev felt that the entire issue surrounding the Serbian world no. 1 Novak Djokovic, who was eventually deported from Australia after the court refused to reinstate his visa, could have been handled in a better way.

“Things could have been handled a lot better not just from Tennis Australia but also from Djokovic's end and the Australian government. What has been happening doesn’t look great on the sport but hopefully in the coming weeks tennis will take precedence over all the noise made outside the courts,” he summed up.

Australian Open will be telecast live from January 17 on Sony Sports Network

Check out latest DH videos here