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In modern day tennis, you need weapons – for instance, big serve and a big forehand. But Somdev had neither. Standing at 5ft 11in, which is a modest height for a tennis player, all he had was a huge penchant for fight. Somdev's weapons were his legs, arguably among the best on tour.
He could chase down balls all day long, from one corner of the court to the other, wearing his opponents down. His biggest strengths were his speed off the court, and the fighting spirit that he possessed in abundance.
These were always on full display whenever he represented India at the Davis Cup, the five set format being the ideal for Somdev to excel. There are players who just translate to a different level while playing for the country. Somdev was definitely one of those. He regularly beat players way above his league at the Davis Cup, leading India to the World Group on two occasions.
To have achieved what he has with his limited weaponry, is no mean feat. He could well be considered "David Ferrer of Indian Tennis", a grinding counterpuncher, one who uses the pace off the opponent's strokes to keep the rally going, until the opponent gives in.
His mental fortitude might have made up for the lack of fire in his strokes, but there was no shortage of fire in his belly. One needs to have grit to hang around and trouble the top players regularly, especially with a game like his, which never allowed him any free points on his serve.
But the fact that Somdev managed to do it with aplomb, proves what the man is built of.
The Road Ahead for Indian Tennis
Somdev's absence has left a huge void in the Indian Davis Cup setup. Now that Somdev will not be returning to professional tennis, the responsibility will fall on the shoulders of Saketh Myneni, Yuki Bhambri and youngsters like Sumit Nagal and Ramkumar Ramanathan, who have both shown promise on the tour.
Interestingly, Bhambri, Nagal and Ramanathan have all had time to spend with Devvarman over the last few years, and have been able to glean the best of his skills. He has set benchmarks for the younger generation, and his advice will be especially valuable for a player like Sumit Nagal, who, of a similar frame as Somdev, stands at around 5ft 10in.
Somdev recently donned the coach's role for Prajnesh Gunneswaran, a reserve player in the Indian Davis Cup team, working with him for a couple of weeks before the Chennai Open. 30-year-old Devvarman has suggested at press conferences that he might be interested in taking up the role of coaching the Indian Davis Cup Team in the near future.
To have a man with as much experience at the Davis Cup as Devvarman does would be incredibly useful for the side in looking to progress to the World Group Stage of the tournament
