Somdev Devvarman has got his priorities right. The rigours of world tennis has made India's top singles player realise that he needs to take care of his health while striving to improve his game.
Devvarman, who could not give his best in India's Davis Cup tie against Japan due to a shoulder strain, has the immediate challenge of recovering from the injury. He will have to take a break of two weeks and do a lot of physiotherapy in order to get back into top shape.
“I had an MRI scan and saw a few doctors. It has happened over the years,” said Devvarman, who went through two back-to-back long-winding seasons (last year as well as this year). “This is nothing in the grand scheme of things,” added Devvarman, who was scheduled to play in the Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur in the last week of this month.
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Devvarman took India's recent 1-4 loss to Japan in the Davis Cup in the right spirit.
“Japan played really well. They deserved to win at home. After 26 years they are in the World Group,” said Devvarman.
“We were not 100 per cent fit,” he said of about the injuries to players like himself, Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna that had plagued the Indian team.
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Devvarman had a word of appreciation for teammate and long time pal Vishnu Vardhan, who replaced him in the reverse singles match against Japan's Kei Nishikori. “It was nice to see him play like that. He did not look like he was 400 spots behind (his rival in rankings).”
According to Devvarman, Vishnu, who made his Davis Cup debut, should not be judged from his performance in just one match.
Talking about his individual form this year, Devvarman, who slipped five places to 70th spot on Monday, did not attach much importance to the frequent shuffles in the World rankings.
“A few weeks ago I didn't play enough matches, but the ranking moved up because others lost points. It is important not to focus on ranking but to focus on improving.
“It has been an average year, but statistically it is the best year (for me),” said Devvarman.
The 26-year-old drew satisfaction from his showing in the current season and said the next five years would be a crucial phase in his career.
Devvarman, who received the Arjuna award from the Union Sports Minister Ajay Maken on Tuesday, was pleased that his achievements were being taken note of.
“Awards have a funny thing about them. You don't win them on courts,” he said.
Devvarman supported the simmering discontent among tennis players, led by World No. 4 Andy Murray, over the tight scheduling of tournaments.
The U.S. Open schedule, which had gone off the track following heavy rains, had made many top players raise their voice on the issue.
“What happened at the U.S. Open helped us stir up the issue. We don't have enough rest between tournaments. (Roger) Federer was pretty upset and so was Rafa (Nadal). They got the players together on their stand and a change should happen soon,” said Devvarman.
Devvarman also claimed that the players were underpaid.
“They just get 12 per cent of the revenue and any practical person would say that it is the players who help generate all the revenue,” he said.