Eager to scale heights again

At the start of the year, Somdev Devvarman looked set to have a crack at his long time dream of reaching top 50 in ATP rankings. He performed admirably in the three-week Challenger Tour swing in India, capping it with a title at the inaugural Delhi Open.

He, later, brilliantly shouldered the responsibility in Davis Cup of spearheading the country’s charge into the World Group play-offs. But just when he thought his career was back on an upswing, his form deserted him.

The struggle soon became a constant companion as his ranking plummeted below 150. The US-based Indian, however, has spent enough years on the international circuit to understand that failures too are a part of the life of a sportsperson.

The coming two weeks hold promise for Somdev and the rest of the Indians who look to grab ranking points in two back-to-back Challengers in Indore and Pune, starting from Monday. Somdev has been training at the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association (DLTA) complex, preparing for the hard grind ahead.

"Last time when I was here for Delhi Open, I was playing great and talking about entering the top 50. Now I am playing to try to save myself dropping out of top 150.

Tennis is a tough sport. From April to July I felt I wasn’t very healthy and that hurt me in many ways. I usually do well in US hard court pre-season, but I skipped a few of those tournaments," Somdev told Deccan Herald, taking time out from his training. “I don’t think I have had a great year by my standards. I had a lot of ups and downs, in fact, more downs than ups. That’s normal. I am working hard and trying to get out of it and giving my best,” Somdev said.

Excited about the blooming Challenger circuit in India, Somdev, currently ranked 142 in the world, hoped to dust off the rust and begin afresh next year. He knows the learning process never stops.

"I have made mistakes in terms of scheduling, rest, rehab etc. A lot of times you are eager to play when you are not ready to play, and as you play the matches one by one, it begins snowballing really badly. I feel I have always worked hard and try to do best things for my career. I am getting older, and I need to carful about my body,” he said.

Somdev was also ecstatic at the prospect of Indians getting a chance to play at the Challenger events at home. “These challengers have been very, very helpful. I was speaking to Anil Khanna (AITA president) and thanked him for bringing five Challengers to India this year. I had been guilty of criticising AITA a lot in the past and all the other players as well.

I am not saying it is a heavenly organisation but I think that credit should be given when they have made the effort. The AITA did a fantastic job from holding zero Challenger in the last five years to bringing five in 2014. In Indore, nine Indians are in the main draw which is really good, when did such a thing happened last time,” he said. “The players too have been performing well at the Challenger level, in fact, we have won most of our doubles matches. So, we have justified the faith of the organisers with our performances.”


In the midst of his struggle to regain his rhythm, Somdev seemed to break the deadlock in the ATP Challenger in Shanghai last month. Somdev reached the final in both singles and doubles. His loss in singles to Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka, who went on to win Asian Games gold, however, left him crestfallen. The Indian had led 5-2 in the third set and even held a match point at 5-6 at Nishioka’ serve but couldn’t close the match. But like always, he was able to put the loss in perspective. 

“In the first two matches in Shanghai, I really struggled and somehow came up with a win. The quarters and semis turned out to be very good matches, and I felt happy about them. The final again I felt was a fantastic match. I was up a match point but let it go and after a long time I felt like the need to speak to my family and friends after the loss. It was really good match, I just happen to lose that’s it. I gave my best effort, playing for three and a half hours in the middle of Shanghai summer,” he said.

“Shortly after that I was playing the doubles final. After that match too, which we lost, I told Sanam that I felt we played pretty well. We lost 10-8. We were just literally three points away. I was not disappointed in terms of efforts and performance, it just happened to be one tough day. The important thing is to come out with good attitude, try to make the best of every day, otherwise you find yourself becoming negative and too emotional.”

The 2010 Asian Games gold medallist didn’t participate in this edition in Incheon, but was jubilant at the performance of his mates who, in the absence of top Indian stars, returned with five medals. He has special praise for Saketh Myneni, who scooped a silver in men’s doubles and gold in mixed doubles partnering Sania Mirza.

“I think they have done a great job. I messaged all the players. I think Yuki (Bhambri)-Divij (Sharan) were unfortunate, they could have been the one fighting for a gold or silver rather than silver or bronze. You have to give Saketh a lot of credit. It is not easy when you are up there playing with Sania Mirza. People will be like if you won a gold, it was because she was playing with you, if you didn’t win a gold, then you must suck because she was playing with you!! He handled the pressure well. He is a very humble guy,” he laughed.

“Sanam played some fantastic singles match even he didn’t win. Yuki was playing in first Asian Games medal round, he did well to make it to the quarterfinals. To be honest, Yuki had a lot of pressure in the fifth match of the Davis Cup and I was interested to know how he responds after the loss. But he entered quarterfinals and didn’t even let his nerve kick in his first Asian Games.  Credit to Sania for also winning a bronze with Prarthana Thombare in the women’s doubles.”

Somdev, who is the part of Chandigarh franchise of the Champions Tennis League, felt the league was an excellent concept to create buzz about tennis in India. The league will see a host of top international stars touching to India. Before it, Mahesh Bhupathi will also be launching the Indian Premier Tennis League (IPTL) which will have great Roger Federer coming to Delhi and play. Somdev admitted this is an exciting time for tennis in India.

"I think it is a great idea because first of all you bring the players of calibre of (David) Ferrer, (Tommy) Robredo, (Philipp) Kohlschreiber, Agnieszka Radwanska, Venus Willians, Martina Hingis to India and give the general public an opportunity to watch them. They are world class players. For an average tennis fan it is an absolutely fantastic idea.

"The Indians players will get an opportunity to be around these players and play in the same league. They all have a chance to make a little bit of extra cash and why not? I think there is a misconception of how glamorous the tennis life is. For tennis players in India it is far from the truth. We all have worked extremely hard to be where we are,”