India’s Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan will make his Grand Slam debut at the Wimbledon in July in the men’s doubles category, this year, thanks to his new partner Jared Donaldson from the United States, reported PTI on Monday.
The 28-year-old from Chennai had qualified for the Grand Slam, playing alongside South Korea’s Hyeon Chung. However, on Sunday, Chung told Jeevan that he was unable to play due to an ankle injury.
“It was tough mentally to hear the news from Hyeon but I am glad he told me before the deadline and gave me an opportunity to find someone else to beat the main draw cut,” said Jeevan to PTI. “After speaking to the tournament referees and tour managers they informed me I had until the first point of qualifying which begins today to re-pair.”
However, the 28-year-old Chennai player found it difficult to find a partner who fell inside the cut-off mark for direct entry with their combined ranking.
“All the wild cards had been given, I couldn’t play qualifying as I entered the main draw in Eastbourne and it looked pretty bleak, the chances to find another player in the top 65,” added Jeevan.
Thankfully though, 20-year-old Jared Donaldson stepped up at the last moment and agreed to be Jeevan’s partner. With a combined ranking of 160th (Jeevan is ranked 95th and Donaldson 65th), they managed to grab the last available spot in the main doubles draw, where the cut-off mark was exactly 160.
“Jared is in Eastbourne for singles and I told him the situation and he needed a few hours to discuss it over with his coaches and texted me saying ‘yes let’s do it’,” said the 28-year-old from Chennai, thanking the support provided by senior professional Rohan Bopanna. “But Rohan (Bopanna) and Manu (his fitness coach Manu Bajpai) helped me stay in the present and we practiced together, doing our routines. At 5 pm, I got the news that Jared was interested to play which was great.”
Jeevan expressed his relief and happiness at being able to play the event but also hoped that his former partner Hyeon Chung recovered quickly. Apart from Bopanna and Jeevan, India will also be represented by Leander Paes, Divij Sharan and Purav Raja in the men’s doubles draw. The draw will be out on June 30.