Not quite an ace in singles

Unlike stalwarts like the Krishnans, Vijay and Anand Amritraj, current Indian players are struggling to find their feet in singles

shrikant.bhagvatula@htlive.com

Ramkumar Ramanathan’s run to the final of the Hall of Fame Tennis Championship in Newport, Rhode Island (USA) last week had raised hopes of an Indian winning an ATP World Tour singles titles after a gap of 20 years. Leander Paes was the last Indian to win a singles title at the ATP level when he won the same title at Newport in 1998.

If he had won the title in the ATP World 250 Series event on Sunday, Ramkumar would have bagged 250 points, which would have helped him surge into the top 100 in the ATP rankings list, joining Yuki Bhambri, who is currently placed 86th, thus putting two Indians in the top 100 in the singles list for the first time since 1986.

But alas, Ramkumar went down fighting to Steve Johnson of the United States. It was a great result for the 23-year-old from Chennai as not many Indians have played in a final in the ATP Tour — the last was Somdev Devvarman who lost to South Africa’s Kevin Anderson in the Johannesburg Open final in 2011.

The setback was symptomatic of the Indian players’ failure of making it to the top 100 grade in recent times as only eight players have achieved this feat since the rankings were introduced in 1973.

Ramkumar’s runners-up finish in Newport was the best result for India in singles play at the senior level as the country’s top stars have dominated the doubles circuit with Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi winning multiple doubles titles in Grand Slams and ATP Tour.

STRUGGLE CONTINUES

So, what is the reason that the Indians excel in doubles but struggle in singles?

Experts name a lot of them. To become a top-class singles player, one needs (though not in same order) stamina, strength, fitness, height, mental strength, focus, determination, fighting spirit and abundance of talent. Indian players have lot of talent but they lose out on other attributes. Their development is also slow due to lack of proper training system and strong tournaments at home and thus when they reach their prime, they are around 25 or 26 and thus susceptible to injuries. Like in the case of Somdev Devvarman and Yuki Bhambri — their progress was halted by injures.

There are not enough Challenger events and the country has hosted only one ATP 250 Series event for the last couple of decades. The players are thus forced to travel abroad for training, which current players like Ramkumar and Prajnesh Gunneswaran are doing, and playing strong tournaments, which is a huge financial burden. As per a rough estimate, a player will have to spend between Rs 40-50 lakh annually to be in the top list and the returns are low till one enters the top bracket.

Tennis has changed a lot since the days of Ramanathan Krishnan, Vijay Amritaj and Anand Amritraj --- it has become more competitive and thus without the backing of a proper system, Indian stars will continue to struggle to get into the top echelons in singles.