The tennis season has ended for a large group of Indian professionals who are ranked between 200s and upwards of 400. They will be either going to Europe for off-season training or those with some resources will play either in the lower-tier ITF Futures or the ATP Challenger Tour elsewhere in the world. The $50,000 KPIT-MSLTA Challenger in Pune that the unseeded Frenchman Sadio Doumbia won was the last big attraction for the home-grown talents. And how well Chennai left-hander Prajnesh Gunneswaran used it; he collected a 48 ATP points that would probably help him improve from his current ranking at 346. The 26-year-old would have mulled over the fact that if he had been a little sharper and focused, he would have gained 80 ATP points. The Challenger Tour event in Pune gave opportunities to Saketh Myneni, Ramkumar Ramanathan, Gunneswaran and Sumit Nagal and a handful more to ply their trade against players ranked from 108 (Evgeny Donskoy) to well over 500.
The 43-year-old Leander Paes who turned professional 25 years ago and won 18 Grand Slam titles (men and mixed) is India’s most well-known face in the men’s professional circuit. He responds to questions on what is good for Indian tennis and its promising players — ATP Challenger or ITF tournaments. “Tennis is a global event. It’s a case of chicken and egg. You have to play well to get the corporate support and if you get the sponsorship you will play well. Look at P.V. Sindhu… she won a medal and everyone is supporting her. Everyone supports a winner. But ATP Challenger is the way forward for Indian talent,” he said in Pune.
Excerpts:
The 2016 season has virtually ended for the majority of the Indians in the pro-circuit. Just one ATP Challenger this year and six ITF events, which was probably three times over last year; is it an ideal situation?
One of the interesting things happening in Asia is that there are many ATP Challenger Tour events and ITF Futures. A long time ago, myself and my father (Dr. Vice Paes) used to run five Challengers, and those events to me are more important than just having one big event. The Chennai Open ($250,000 series) is fantastic. We have seen Ramkumar, Somedev (Devvarman) do well; I have done well in singles and doubles. The Chennai Open, Challenger and Future events are the heart and soul of developing young athletes.
The more tournaments we have, the better. And the reason I am saying this is because over the last 30 years and especially when I started playing, there were only a few players, but in the last 10 years it has increased manifold. With Sania (Mirza) and me doing well in the Grand Slams and the Olympics, the number of players have grown. But I can clearly see different category of players. As much as the big number, one can see the level of players. And so, having ATP Challenger Tour and ITF Futures events, especially will give these players chance to earn more points.
The tournaments though are less in 2016?
More events will always help, but at the same time you have to develop the players. Having more events will help their rankings. I think the ATP Challenger events are more important because there are more points there. Our boys are hovering around the 200s and 300s ranking in the world.
Is it because of the absence of Indian in the singles top 100 or 200 that the sponsors are not keen to promote ATP Challenger and ITF Futures?
I make it a point to promote an event. The Chennai Open and if it is Pune, I spend time here, especially with the sponsors. They are interested in putting more money; they want to grow the tournament. The Chennai Open has got a three year extension. The government supports the event in Chennai. The title sponsor here in Pune wants to make it a bigger event. It’s a case of chicken and egg…what comes first. If you have more players, you have players in the top 100 because they make points. And so if you have more players in the top 100 the sponsors will come. Somdev did well in Chennai Open, and he broke into the top 100; his all time best was 62 in the world. Ramkumar has done well.
So you would like to have more ATP Challengers than ITF Futures in India?
If you play Futures for ten years you are not going to get enough points to be in the top 100.
No chance. If you play Futures 365 days of the year, you will not get into top 100. But if you play the ATP Challengers, you can. Like I said, myself, Somdev and Ramkumar have benefited from the Chennai Open. Ramkumar has been playing a lot of Challengers, he’s going to Europe to play the Challengers.
So even the sponsors should think seriously about the Challengers ?
People should focus on Challengers because the sponsors will get more opportunities in it than by doing the Futures. The type of players who enter the Challengers are better than the Futures. If a Challenger gives you 100 points, and if you win five events in a 52-week calendar, which is very doable, you will get 500 points. If you win 15 Futures, this will not happen.
What can players like Saket, Ramkumar, Sumit (Nagar) and others do in the circumstances?
They are going to play a few more tournaments. But I think Saket is going to take time off for the Chennai Open and Australian Open qualifiers. Ramkumar will play a few more.
But they have to go overseas?
It’s always been like that. They have to be very selective. Tennis is the most global sport on the planet. It’s not like cricket and football where you have international tournaments in India all the time. They have to go out and play. If I look back at my career over the last 30 years, I probably play one or two a year in India.
But there could be more in India… it would cost the players less?
Why only India ? It’s the same for the Koreans, Chinese, Uzbekistanis…There should be more events in India, but we have always had to go to Australia, England, France, USA. The players have to travel. You cannot be stuck saying I will win at home only. I played a Challenger in Tashkent, Italy…these boys are playing Challengers every week. There has never been 40 Challengers or tournaments in India, even 20, 10 or five. It has been like this for ever.
It's really tough to crack the top 100… was it any different when you started off?
Even then it was crazy… at the height of winter I had to go to Wurzburg (Germany). I slept in the locker room, I had no money. It’s got better now. You did not have a $250,000 tournament in Indian then. When I got into the semi-finals I cracked the top 100. I won the Newport Hall of Fame after that, but I got into the Newport because I reached the Chennai semis.
There are many Indians between 200 and 500. Yuki (Bhambri) has dropped because he is injured. Saket, Ramkumar, Nagal and Prajnesh…all of them can go up. Even Vishnu, I saw him play at Tashkent. He was doing very well and he could have beaten the top seed. Apart this singles, take the doubles list…and you have 15 players on the travelling together. When I looked to have a partner here (Pune Challenger) I could have chosen from eight or nine Indian players which is better than what was five years ago. So the health of Indian tennis is really improving because of the ITF Futures, Chennai Open and the Challengers. Initially I won three Challengers and made my ranking. So one cannot isolate the problem now (in the context of more tournaments).
How do the Indians match up with their counterparts in Europe, Asia and Americas…skill-wise, mindset and all that?
There is a lot of talent in Indian tennis…each one is individual. Some need to be fitter for endurance, some need to improve a few strengths like getting the winning shots, like a forehand or serve…getting better in one shot. But at the end of the day, it’s all about match practice. When you play matches, win points and win tournaments, confidence comes. It’s only a mental confidence game. The difference between 100 and 300 in the world is only a matter of mental confidence.
Do you think the players will be better off if they have ecosystems in place like a travelling coach? South Korean Duckhee Lee has a team…father and cousin as a coach?
You can find 100 excuses and I can give you a thousand reasons why we cannot produce…. Duckhee has medical problems and he needs people around… he has done wonderfully well, he is a great example. But to have a three man team, how expensive it will be?
That’s where the corporate sponsorship should come in?
Why point out only India? Serbia..who has supported..all those youngsters before they made it big..in America..who supports? So find a way to deliver and make the difference yourself.
The lack of top-rung players is not helping India’s chances to get in the Davis Cup World Group? India is ranked 19th as a nation though?
We should be happy that we are winning the Asia-Oceania Group…we are winning everything. We are winning against Korea, Japan, New Zealand , Uzbekistan… Japan has Kei Nishikori, he’s top 5 in the world. Korea has unbelievable strength. Ranked 19th is not bad at all. This means the top 16 is in Davis Cup. India is one rung out of that.
How does India get better?
Get more tournaments, more ATP Challengers… I have lots of respect for these players. They go to Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Europe and to Mexico, China. You have an Indian tournament and everybody is here. They all want their rankings to get better.
And more ATP Challengers is the way ahead than the ITF Futures?
Ramkumar will play the Challengers… what will he do playing the Futures… he has to play the Challengers… and ask Vishnu (Vardhan) who has been around a while… I played the Olympics with him at London. He would say Challengers. The ATP Challengers are the way forward to get the big points and improve rankings. That’s where things happen. Make 100 points a week… 80 or 70, 48 or 25 … that will make a difference to their ranking. Even if they play 15 Futures where will they go… nowhere.
Do you think players are seriously thinking of doubles as an option career-wise?
I think singles is the game… where it all happens. Doubles… yes, I have been able to win Grand Slams, Sania is winning Grand Slams… but I used to be a singles and doubles player. People will remember my singles Olympic medal... my singles Davis Cup record. You win a Grand Slam singles… you get $1.8 million… in doubles $ 80,000. There are lots of Indian players in singles. Singles should be the priority and play doubles as well. In India we have to produce singles players… we don’t have a player in the top 100.
You are still playing... Zeeshan, Mark (Ferreira), Asif (Ismail), Vasudevan and many others left the scene many years ago… so what keeps you going?
I love my tennis, I am passionate about it… it’s clean, healthy, keeps me fit and I am still winning Grand Slams. People go through their career to win one Grand Slam. It’s a bench mark I have already created... last year I won three, the year before that in men and women’s… so when you create a benchmark, people expect me to do that. I know how to deal with expectations. After practising for five hours in Chennai, I used to tell my father let’s do one more hour. I am doing the same now. I enjoy my tennis. I go to my workplace in T-shirt, shorts and tennis shoes.
What’s your perception of tennis now?
It’s changed a lot, the number of players in particular. I remember Ramesh Krishnan and me travelling and sharing a room at the French Open… that’s for one week. Other than that, I was always alone for many years before Mahesh (Bhupathi) came along. These days you have leagues in countries that are paying thousands of dollars… crores of rupees for players to come. Ramesh came out of retirement to play Davis Cup because uncle Naresh (Kumar) asked him to comeback… then Zeeshan, Vasu all retired… I chose to play doubles with Mahesh because I could have companionship… Mahesh was playing only doubles… even when Rohan (Bopanna) came, he did only doubles… there were no singles for the better half of 14 or 15 years. The numbers are humungous now… India has around 30 odd players… and there are singles players. Ramkumar is 21, Sumit (Nagal) is 19… and Prajnesh (Gunneswaran) is very encouraging.
What’s your assessment of Indian tennis now?
I think it’s in a very healthy position. On the women’s side we don’t have many… there are lots of young girls doing well to improve their ranking. The bottom line is India needs to keep encouraging the system.Q. What’s your assessment of Indian tennis now?
A.I think it’s in a very healthy position. On the women’s side we don’t have many..there are lots of young girls doing well to improve their ranking. The bottom line is India needs to keep encouraging the system.
