After Asian Games high, Divij chases Grand Slam success
NEW DELHI: Divij Sharan has hardly got time to celebrate his men’s doubles gold at the Asian Games. Immediately after the medals ceremony, Divij made a dash to the airport to catch a flight to New York where he will be fancying his chances with partner Artem Sitak at the US Open.
The Delhi boy has been in hot form this year and has climbed to No 38 in world rankings in doubles, the second Indian in the charts after Rohan Bopanna.
At Wimbledon Championships, Divij and Sitak defeated some quality pairs and reached the quarter-finals where they lost to eventual champions Mike Bryan and Jack Sock.
Divij had also made it to the round of 16 at the Australian Open and French Open last year but with different partners. Finally, he has combined with Sitak of New Zealand for a longer duration and that he feels will bring more consistency in results.
“I will have a fixed partner in Artem Sitak on tour this year. We have done well in the last couple of tournaments. For the first time I reached the quarterfinals of an ATP 500 tournament (Citi Open), made it to Wimbledon quarter-finals and have reached a career-high ranking of 36 this year,” Divij said in an interview.
“So I am feeling positive about my game, I feel I am in great space and that’s a good sign for any player.”
They will play American pair of Even Zhu and Martin Redlicki in their opening match of US Open on Wednesday.
“I definitely feel a Grand Slam doubles title is achievable. I have lost some close matches at Grand Slams against top combinations that could have gone either way..