The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Rohan Bopanna has the energy to make it

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jun 20, 2005

Sport

Sport - Tennis

Rohan Bopanna has the energy to make it

Special Correspondent

DEHRA DUN: The marathon is coming to an end, and the players are keen to gain the maximum possible ATP points in the ONGC ITF Satellite tennis circuit Masters to be played at the Doon School courts here from Monday.

After three weeks of intense competition in the hot, humid and windy conditions of the NTA Complex in Gurgaon, the players would be eager to provide a fitting climax to their campaign at this hill station that is incidentally reeling under an unusual heat wave.

Peter Clarke of Ireland may have looked unbeatable over two weeks, but all the other 23 players including the top-seeded Rohan Bopanna would be out to get the better of him.

With the top eight players getting a first round bye, the 25-year-old Bopanna would have to win three rounds to win the circuit, though he may have to win the Masters to ensure the maximum possible 46 ATP points, including eight bonus points.

Clarke himself can win the circuit if he takes the title here, the rest cannot aspire to do so as they do not have enough points to top the table even if they manage to win the Masters.

Of course, the likes of the third-seeded Prima Simpatiaji of Indonesia and the fourth-seeded Vinod Sridhar can hope to finish second in the circuit and be eligible for four bonus ATP points.

For someone who had to come through the qualifying event in all the three legs, the 31-year-old Nitin Kirtane has shown considerable determination to reach the semifinals of the third leg and be seeded sixth here.

He was close to being eliminated from the circuit, but that is the way it is at this level.

You have got to keep fighting your way up every day without losing hope.

That is why a player of the calibre of Bopanna who had won the $15,000 Futures title in Kuwait recently apart from finishing runner-up in a $10,000 event in Sri Lanka has opted to compete in the Satellite rather than get into the Challenger circuit in Europe and the US.

Great improvement

To this extent, Bopanna has shown tremendous improvement, not only in the quality of his game but in terms of temperament as well. After 63 sets in singles and doubles spread over 27 matches, the strapping Coorgi has the energy to make a final burst to the top of the podium.

If you were disappointed at seeing Bopanna lose two finals to Clarke, you may be in for a surprise as Bopanna has been judiciously conserving energy rather than be drained before the Masters.

He will meet the winner of the match between Salifu Mohamed of Ghana and V. M. Ranjeet in the pre-quarterfinals. It may be recalled that the 18-year-old lad from Ghana who is based in the US had stretched Bopanna to three sets in the semifinals of the first leg.

That is why the Satellite circuit is akin to running a marathon, you have to pace yourself nicely for maximum reward.

The seedings:

Singles: 1. Rohan Bopanna, 2. Peter Clarke (Irl), 3. Prima Simpatiaji (Ina), 4. Vinod Sridhar, 5. Stephen Mitchell (RSA), 6. Nitin Kirtane, 7. Gurmehar Singh and 8. Dmitri Makeev (Kaz).

Doubles: 1. Rohan Bopanna and Vijay Kannan, 2. Jaco Mathew and Ashutosh Singh., 3. Hayato Furukawa and Tetsuhiro Yamamoto (Jpn), 4. Nitin Kirtane and Vishaal Uppal.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport