Interview with Somdev Devvarman: "I want to be in top 100 by 2013 end"

Indian tennis has produced greats like Ramanathan Krishnan, Jaideep Mukherjee, Premjit Lall ,Vijay Amritraj, Ramesh Krishnan, Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi. And one man who is determined to fill in their big shoes or at least come anywhere close to them, is Somdev Devvarman.

Injuries have played a big part in derailing his tennis career to some extent. A nagging shoulder injury put him out of action for most part of 2012.

The 2013 has been quite challenging for Somdev, who recently rubbed shoulders with world number one Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the third round of the ATP Miami Masters. He shares his experiences about playing the world number one and much more in an exclusive interview to Sportskeeda.

Excerpts:

You played a big part in India’s 5-0 rout of Indonesia, in the recent Asia-Oceania relegation play-off tie. You must be delighted with the team’s impressive win and also with the fact that the team was back at full strength?

Winning for India is always special, and winning the tie 5-0 made it even better! It was great week with the boys, hanging out and practising with them.

Indian tennis has been courting controversy in recent months, beginning with the players’ revolt which led to India fielding a second-string side against Korea, against whom we lost tamely. Do you, in hindsight, think that the players’ pull-out was imperative to send the message across that they can’t be taken for granted?

Not playing that tie against Korea wasn’t a decision that was taken lightly. We all love representing India and take great pride in it. But we felt like the players’ concerns were not being addressed and pulling out of that tie was something we had to do for us to be heard.

Players’ associations are often looked as ‘unwelcome groups’ by the parent body. Do you think that the formation of the Indian Tennis Players Association (ITPA) will be warmly received by AITA or will it be able to achieve its desired objectives?

I hope that it will be received warmly. We want to help improve the development and growth of tennis in India, and working together towards this would be extremely beneficial.

You had an injury-ravaged 2012 where you missed the first half and only played in a few tournaments in the latter part of the year. How serious was your shoulder injury?

It was a pretty serious injury. I had to undergo surgery and had a long period of recovery and rehab. The injury kept me off the court and out of competitive tennis for over 9 months.

Injuries are part and parcel of a sportsperson’s life. How frustrating it is to sit on the sidelines, missing tournaments one after another?

It’s something you come to terms with after a while. It is quite frustrating to not be able to play but looking at the bigger picture, I guess it’s more important to stay healthy and not take unnecessary risks.

You reached a career high singles ranking of 62 in July 2011. You finished 2012 at 664 but you have moved up to 205 since then. Where do you want to be by 2013-end?

I’d like to be in the top 100 by the end of 2013. I’m sure if I play well and win some good competitive matches, the ranking will take care of itself.

You had a decent run at the 2013 Miami Masters, where you lost to world number one Novak Djokovic in the third round. Share us your experiences of playing the Serb.

It’s a confidence booster to play the top guys. And you also learn a lot – about your own weaknesses and strengths, and which part of your game needs work.

You reached the 4th round of the 2011 BNP Paribas Open, where you upset world no. 22 Marcos Baghdatis in second round, stunned world no. 52 Xavier Malisse in the third round before losing to Rafael Nadal in the fourth. Would you rate this tournament as one of the special moments of your singles career since the time you turned pro in 2008?

It was definitely a great tournament for me and again, playing Rafa was special.

Indian tennis is going through transition. With the careers of Lee-Hesh coming to an end, you have enormous responsibility to spearhead the India’s next generation of tennis players. Your thoughts?

The next generation of Indian tennis players are a bunch of great guys. They’re hard working and hungry to do well. I’m of course always there to provide any kind of support and assistance that I can, but I think they’ll get by absolutely fine without me.

Is there any systematic problem that India is struggling to produce quality men’s singles players Vijay Amritraj, Ramesh Krishnan among others?

I don’t think there’s a systematic problem. There is room for improvement and hopefully we’ll all work on that together.

Which are the areas you need to work on in order to develop your game further?

Working on my game is a constant, on-going process.

Who are your favourite men’s and women’s tennis players and why?

My favourite men’s player is Roger Federer and women’s is probably Steffi Graf. They’re great icons of the sport. The way they conduct themselves on and off the court, their dedication to the game and the hard work they put in, I think they’re inspirational.

What are the other things you do when you are not playing tennis?

I hang out with friends, watch movies, read, play and listen to music; do things to unwind.

What will be your message to the upcoming Indian youngsters who have taken up tennis?

Be persistent. It’s a tough sport, and it takes a lot of mental and physical strength.