‘Singles players playing doubles good for game’

Veteran Indian tennis player Rohan Bopanna says the presence of singles players in the doubles draws, in a way, is good for the sport as they draw more fans into the stadiums and that goes a long way in promoting the doubles format.

The sport lives on the superior, physically and mentally demanding singles style but at the same time the doubles format is also getting tougher by the day because when the top singles player unleash their high-quality game, it makes the doubles matches more interesting, tough and tricky.

“That’s a catch 22 situation, talking about it,” Bopanna said when he was asked if it wasn’t better if only doubles specialists play this format.

The former World No. 3 feels Ramkumar’s energy and passion allows him to play his best tennis and is looking forward to having another great week in Pune.

“I have watched him grow as a player whether it’s in Davis Cup or other tournaments. If there was some advice I could give him, I have always helped him trying to see where he can improve. I got to know him off the court really well and that camaraderie being on the court just helped us really do well,” Bopanna said. (Agencies)