Som sets amidst injuries and ‘dying passion’

31-year-old Devvarman, who last played at Indian Wells in March 2015, announces retirement from professional tennis

THERE WAS an undoubted spring in his step. It was easy to tell by the way Somdev Devvarman pranced around the mixed zone area of the SDAT Tennis Stadium in Chennai. With a broad smile, on New Year’s Eve, he made his way to the outer courts of the Chennai Open, greeting passers-by and colleagues alike. This was only the second time since he became a professional that he was absent from the tournament, and for all the world, he seemed to be enjoying it.

A day later, he would take to social media to announce his retirement. For a while, rumours had been doing the rounds about the 31-year-old possibly calling it quits. Nothing was for certain.

He would never say so himself, even though his last appearance at a competitive tournament was back in March 2016, at a Futures event in the United States. Still, there was speculation. Yet, now that Somdev has announced his decision, he has brought closure to one of India’s most exciting singles careers.

Devvarman first broke onto the Indian circuit when he declared himself a professional in 2008, shortly after his return from a successful playing career at the college level in the United States. With skill in abundance, there was a telling spark in his attitude towards the game. “He was a friendly guy, but was always willing to work hard and never afraid to challenge the seniors,” recalls former Davis Cupper Vishal Uppal.

Almost immediately, he made his mark as a slugger – a defensive player willing to put in the miles on court to retrieve and frustrate an opponent. And he did that to devastating effect, bringing forward inspiring performances in the Davis Cup – including victories against Serbian Dusan Lajovic and Czech star Jiri Vesely in the 2014 and 2015 World Group Playoffs respectively.

For that, he displayed levels of fitness never seen before in Indian tennis. “Easily the fittest guy in Indian tennis in the last 20 years,” says Anand Amritraj, India’s outgoing Davis Cup captain. “He’s always been a great team player as well. You never had to worry about him not backing the other players (on the team),” he adds.

In the 14 ties he represented the country in, he played a key role in helping the team find promotion to the World Group in 2010 – especially in the important rubber against Brazil. “We were down 2-1 by the third day, and we told Somdev to just prolong the match for as much as he could. It was hot in Chennai that day, but Somdev was doing well. Eventually his opponent had to retire from the match,” recalls SP Misra, chairman of the AITA selection committee. “That just tells you about his fitness levels,” he adds.

For a player whose game was based on the strength in his legs rather than the skill and power of his groundstrokes, it comes as a cruel irony that injury issues unravelled a career of promise. He missed most of the 2012 season due to a shoulder injury, along with what would be his last in 2016.

“I was advising him to come back. But it’s tough to do so when you don’t have the motivation because he relied on his feet and fitness,” Amritraj mentions.

Hope of a comeback

Misra, too, asserts that there was hope that the former world number 62 would be able to make a return. “It’s happened rather before his time. I felt he might have a few good years left in him. But he has been out for a while, perhaps there is some other vocation he has thought of,” Misra says.

Just hours after he posted his retirement, there was frenzy at the SDAT Stadium. Devvarman was there, on the outer courts, feeding tennis balls to Prajnesh Gunneswaran, the Davis Cup reserve for the upcoming tie against New Zealand. This gave legs to the other rumour that had come up ever since Devvarman’s name had cropped up for the Davis Cup coach’s role – that he had made the transition from player to coach.

But Prajnesh isn’t sure about it himself. “He had a small pre-season camp. So I asked for some help in getting into shape. It was pretty simple stuff like how to work on recovery since I’ve had many injuries. Basics, but still pretty effective work,” says the 27-yearold. “But he’s been helping me around a bit.”

Still, working in close quarters with Devvarman provides its own inspiration – especially on the fitness aspect.

“In modern tennis, the courts are slower and balls are heavier. Still he set the tone,” he says. “You look at Leander (Paes) and Mahesh (Bhupathi) and what they’ve achieved in doubles. But Somdev played and achieved in singles. It gave us belief that it can be done,” he adds.

Now that Devvarman has called it quits, there is hope that he will stay with the sport and share his experiences. Amritraj sums it up. “It’s a loss for Indian tennis. But if he stays back, he’ll teach them (the current players) all a lesson in levels of fitness. Which we need anyway.”

Yuki qualifies for main draw

Yuki Bhambri qualified for the singles main draw of the Chennai Open with fluent 6-3 6-1 win over Argentine Nicolas Kicker, world No 110, in the second round even as Prajnesh Gunneswaran was ousted. It took Yuki just 59 minutes to end the challenge of Kicker as he saved three of the four breakpoints he faced and broke his rival five times in the match. Yuki will play compatriot and Davis Cup teammate Ramkumar Ramanathan. There are three Indians now in the singles draw with third being Saketh Myneni, who is drawn to play seasoned Russia Mikhail Youzhny.

PTI Somdev Devvarman said the passion with which he used to play was "dying" and felt he will not be able to play his best tennis.