Chennai Open champions Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Rohan Bopanna's double take

How satisfying is the Chennai Open title, coming at the start of the season and in front of the home crowd?

Rohan: It's definitely very satisfying to win a title in Chennai. I've won a few titles around the globe but never had won a home title. I was really happy with the way Jeevan and I played throughout the week to win the title. More so, after having a tough 2016 where I had gone without winning a title, this is a great start to the season.

Jeevan: Immensely satisfying. To start a new season with a title, I couldn't have asked for more.

You guys haven't played much together, except for once at the Chengdu Open last year in China. Did you believe you could go this deep in the tournament playing against some more experienced doubles pairs?

Jeevan: To be honest, I had quiet sense of confidence. I knew if we played to our potential, we could go really deep. And once we got the first win under our belt, it only made me believe even more. I know a lot of people didn't give us much of a chance, but I was quietly confident.

Rohan: With this format of no Ad (advantage) and super tie-break, every team has a chance. I knew that if Jeevan and me kept holding our serves, we would always have a chance to put pressure on the other teams. And that's exactly what happened. We started off great in the first match, and it just gave us confidence from there on. Of course, we got some luck in the second round, saving three match points. After that, we played some high-quality tennis in the semis and final.

How was it playing with each other? You guys seemed to have great chemistry on court besides your complementary styles of play...

Rohan: Mainly, as a partnership, it is the camaraderie that plays a major role. There are a lot of things that go into it but I think complementing each other's game is secondary. The first thing is to enjoy playing with that person.

That's something I enjoyed with Jeevan. I played one tournament with him in China, and he's a very hard-working guy. It's great to see him doing well, he had a great last year. And that helps when you play together, for then you trust each other. I tell him to do something and he learns very fast, which is good. Playing on the high level tour, I've learnt so much that when I spot something wrong, I can go back and make him understand.

Jeevan: It was amazing. I played with him in August last year as well in China, and I've learnt a lot from him. He brings out the aggressive side of me on the court. He asked me to focus on my service game. We make a great team together: one a big, booming server and the other a little left-hander with deft touches at the net. I guess we are a good team to watch.

The difference in your rankings might not make it possible, but would you like to play more with each other?

Rohan: If there's a possibility, why not? But right now, I am fixed with Pablo Cuevas for the year. My priority at the moment is to qualify and make it to London (ATP World Tour Finals). So for that, we have to play as a team as much as we can. But having said that, if there's an opportunity somewhere, I have a week free and if I want to play when Pablo is not playing, I don't see why Jeevan and I can't play again together.

Jeevan: I would love to play more with Rohan. But the reality is he is World No. 28 and I'm No. 86. We won't make the cut for a lot of big tournaments. But I've told Rohan that if feels like taking a week off and coming down and playing some ATP 250 events, he can play with me. Meanwhile, my goal will be to break into the top 60 in the rankings. I know we can form a good partnership.