It took Leander Paes winning the bronze medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics to re-ignite the tennis fervour among Indian audiences in the singles front. And just when it seemed that Paes’s win would be consigned to remain as yet another reference point for India’s tennis history rather than a determinant for its future, it was Somdev Devvarman who revived the flagging Indian hopes in the singles draw.
The two-time former NCAA champion from the University of Virginia not only had a different background to the sport compared to his predecessors, but also received an inculcating exposure that reflected in his style of play. More importantly, it was also evinced in the fact that he focused solely on singles instead of having doubles as a back-up to give his pro tennis career longevity as had come to be the norm for several leading Indian players, including Paes.
Making a unique choice, setting a unique precedent
While not handsomely, Devvarman’s preference reaped quite a few rich dividends, one of which was reaching the 62nd place in the ATP rankings. He reached two ATP finals, one in Chennai in 2009 where he lost to Marin Cilic, and the other in 2011 in Johannesburg where he was defeated by home favourite Kevin Anderson. In the Davis Cup, where India looked to be the favourite only in doubles ties, the Agartala-born lad ensured that singles ties didn’t remain a lost cause hindering India’s chances.
In the 14 Davis Cup ties he played, Devvarman had a win-loss record of 14-10, which included notable wins against Serbia in 2011 and 2014. In the World Group first round in 2011, Devvarman notched a straight-sets win over Janko Tipsarevic that ended up being the only match India won in the tie. Three years later, in 2014, needing a win to level the tie with the Serbians and keep India in the hunt for a place in the World Group, Devvarman played his heart out against Dusan Lajovic to win a five-set thriller, overturning his opponent’s two sets’ lead.
The 31-year-old’s retirement then leaves the prospects of Indian singles tennis quite delicately poised. In Devvarman’s achievements, along with individual accomplishments, there also was a motivational vestige for youngsters to try and take the singles game forward without there being a noticeable transitional gap. Yuki Bhambri aptly summarised this aspect of Devvarman’s career as, “For me he is the best Davis Cupper in singles that I have seen. There are greats like Ramanathan and Ramesh Krishnan, and Leander Paes, but when I started playing I have seen him. He pushed us and showed us the way. We know how difficult it has become today when the courts are slow, the balls are heavy, and he sustained there. He set a benchmark for us.”
The looming cloud of uncertainty in Devvarman’s absence
None of the current crop of Indian players have been able to add substantially to Devvarman’s contribution. The Indian top-ranked player Saketh Myneni, who is himself a former collegiate player for the University of Alabama, is world No. 192 in singles, while the second-ranked Ramkumar Ramanathan sits four places below him in the 196th place. Bhambri did come close, when he broke into the top-100 in 2015, but injuries have since laid him low and he has dropped down to the fringes of the top-500.
Rankings have a two-way denotion in that they not only indicate steady performances across events, but also help a player gain direct entry into tournaments’ main draw. The present Indian players are losing out on both counts, despite their efforts. This, in turn, has once again started to marginalise the scope of Indian singles tennis, even though the players themselves are disinclined to turn their focus away from the format.
Devvarman is, then, right in pointing out that the existing Indian tennis administrative system needs to be methodically re-worked in order to ensure that such immobilisation doesn’t become a negative trendsetter instead of merely a momentary lull. The recent happenings – in the way the All India Tennis Association went about selecting the team for India’s Davis Cup tie against New Zealand – lend credibility to Devvarman’s criticism on the subject, considering that he has experienced the administrative shortcomings personally.
Harsh as Devvarman’s opining has been, there is indeed a significant promise waiting that a better system of governance can – and should – tap into.
The first round match between Ramkumar Ramanathan and Yuki Bhambri at the Chennai Open gives Indian tennis fans a match-up that they rarely get to see in important events. While fellow countrymen on opposite sides of the net is a common sight for Europeans and Americans, India has long missed out on this facet. As much as Devvarman hanging up his professional tennis boots is the end of an era, the contest between Ramanathan and Bhambri is the potential pivot that can help steady Indian singles performances and bring about a value addition to the leanness in its numbers.