Stoicism behind Bopanna's success

Bengaluru: Going without winning a match for five months almost forced Rohan Bopanna to ‘call it a day’ a couple of years ago. That was probably the 43-year-old’s lowest point in his 20-something-year-old tennis career. 

Bopanna’s decision not to quit then saw him summit the highest point of his journey now.  

In the past seven days, the Kodava rose to the World No. 1 spot in the ATP men’s doubles ranking, became the oldest man to win a Grand Slam doubles title by capturing the Australian Open with partner Matthew Ebden and was chosen to receive the Padma Shri award. 

“What really helped is that I enjoyed every single day, no matter what the situation was,” said Bopanna when asked about keeping his emotions in check without getting overwhelmed. 

“I made sure that ‘feeling good’ doesn't go on till the next day. I ensured I got proper sleep, did proper recovery and knew what the goal ahead was. First and foremost was to get past the third round, which I had never done before. After that everything started getting better. I was more at ease and playing really good tennis,” he explained during an online interaction with the media on Sunday.

Not forgetting that he was only one half of the whole, Bopanna was quick to credit his Australian partner Matthew Ebden for the great week he had just experienced. 

“I knew that with Matt and me playing well in Adelaide (International, where they finished runners-up), if we continued the form, we genuinely had a chance to win the title here. That came true and I don't think it would have happened if not for a partner like Matt, who was calm and understood being there on the big stage and bringing the best tennis when really needed.”

Out of all the superlatives and adjectives being used lately on Bopanna, 'ageless' is probably the one that describes him the best. At 43, with a body that's only slowing down, Bopanna said turning to yoga helped him reverse the process. 

"When I first got to know that the cartilages in my knee were completely worn out, I had to get the PRP (Platelet-Rich Plasma) injections. But after that I realised I needed to work a lot on strengthening it. That's when Iyengar yoga came into my life. It has helped me a big way and I'm able to play at such a high level."

While Bopanna will be busy celebrating and soaking up the great start to the new year, he is eagerly looking forward for the rest of the season that has Olympics in it. And the Indian hopes other players from the country improve their rankings so they get a chance to enter a few ATP 500s before Paris in July. 

"It is great that we are going to have (Indian) representation in men's doubles. Who am I going to play with is yet to be decided. June is the deadline and I need to pick a partner. Mixed doubles will not happen because we don't have anyone among women who is ranked high enough to qualify,” summed up Bopanna.