India's best medal hope

Tennis : Bopanna-Sania bank on their off-court equation to produce a good show

They have grown up playing in age-group tournaments and have got plenty of memories to share.

In their professional careers, however, their partnership has been spotted little, save the Hopman Cup. It was the International Premier Tennis League which brought them together again in its two seasons, where their chemistry was for all to see. At the Rio Olympics, the duo would be India’s best medal hope from tennis.

However, both reckon the enormity of task in hand. The mixed doubles competition has on-spot entries and will have the best of men’s and women’s players, including the likes of Spain’s Rafael Nadal and Garbine Muguruza.

Sania, whose two appearances at the Olympics created little impact, believes her off court equation with Bopanna works to their advantage, apart from their favourable playing styles.

“Rohan and I have a very good record when playing together over the years,” Sania told Deccan Herald. “We've done remarkably well in the last two seasons in the IPTL and reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon when we played together a few seasons ago. Besides, we have a 9-0 win-loss record in the Hopman Cup in the past where we have beaten teams of the likes of (Tomas) Berdych and (Lucie) Safarova. We've also won the mixed doubles Nationals together in the past,” the World No. 1 women’s doubles player said.

“I think his powerful serve and volley game complements well with my strong baseline game and he also prefers the advantage court which perfectly complements my preference for the deuce Court. We also get along well off the court and personally, I find that a handy attribute to have since there are times when it is this chemistry that pulls a team through difficult situations in the course of a match.”

Sania herself has evolved magnificently as a doubles player, her historic World No. 1 ranking is a glowing testimony to it. She had come a fair yard from the forgettable London Olympics drama where she slammed the All Indian Tennis Association (AITA) for using her “as a bait” to please the ego of warring male Indian tennis players. She was paired up with Leander Paes, despite winning the French Open mixed doubles with Mahesh Bhupathi that year.

Bopanna, too, was in the middle of the London Games controversy after he and Bhupathi stuck to their stand of pairing up for the men’s doubles, leaving the then highest ranked men’s doubles player at No. 6, Paes, to partner the unheralded Vishnu Vardhan. 

The fortunes reversed this year, with Bopanna ending up as the highest-ranked player and in the top 10 before the cut off for Rio Olympics.

With Paes’ ranking plummeting to 46, he had no choice but to contend with partnering Bopanna in Rio, even though the Bengaluru tennis ace had picked Saketh Myneni over the veteran to send mini shockwaves to the selection committee. However, it never escalated to the ugly heights of London Games.

Bopanna, who was recently in Chandigarh for Davis Cup, spoke about his excitement in pairing up with Sania in Rio.

“We have known each other for years. She is an exceptional player. I have a lot of respect for her and I am looking forward to playing with her at the Olympics,” said the 36-year-old, who would be appearing in his second Olympic Games at Rio.

The two didn’t play together in the run-up to Rio but Sania put in perspective by saying she was committed to her regular partner Ivan Dodig with whom she reached the semifinals of Australian Open and the final of French Open.

“Besides, Wimbledon was played on grass against the hard courts of Rio."
Sania would also be paring up for women’s doubles with Prarthana Thombare who is coached by her father, Imran Mirza at the Sania Mirza Tennis Academy for the past 18 months. The two had won a bronze medal at the 2014 Asia Games.

“Prarthana has improved her game a lot and Olympics should be a great learning experience for her.”

Sania is aware the expectations would be high from her. “I can't remember ever playing without pressure in any major event in my life as I am privileged to be one of those sportspersons from whom the country has always expected a lot. Of course, as the number one player of the world, one feels more confident than ever before but doubles is about combining with one's partner,” she said.

“Mixed doubles is probably the toughest event considering the field which includes multiple Grand Slam champions. But I would like to believe that we have as good a chance as anybody else.”