Tata Open: Bopanna-Sharan duo show good chemistry

PUNE: Even though two Indian singles players featured on centre court on Tuesday, the most intriguing clash featuring Indians was match No 3 on Court 1. The duo of Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan, partnering for the first time ever on Tour, were facing US Open semifinalists Malek Jaziri and Radu Albot. Sharan and Bopanna had won gold at the Asian Games but there was a vast difference between that and this. 

When you throw in the fact that the pair had announced that they would play together throughout the 2019 season at the end of last year, the match-up held a lot of plotlines. Would there be teething problems? Would they suffer from opening night bloopers? Will the chemistry be good?  As it turned out, it was beyond good. Albot and Jaziri were dispatched 6-1, 6-2 in under 51 minutes. “The first match of the year... it’s always tricky,” Sharan said. “I thought we played well, it’s a pretty good start for us.” 

So how did two of India’s best doubles exponents (according to rankings) decide to come together after years of playing with specialists from other countries? This pairing is even more significant because a full six years have passed since two of India’s leading men’s doubles specialists came together (Mahesh Bhupathi and Bopanna in 2013).  

The 32-year-old Sharan, who is six years Bopanna’s junior, says the glory in Palembang was the starting block. “(After the Asian Games) we had obviously kept in touch with each other. Considering our rankings were also quite similar, we decided why not? The other thing is we also understand each other well off the court. So that really were the main things behind us getting together as a team... that success at the Asian Games as well as our similar ranking. It was a no-brainer for both of us.” 

Bopanna, who has played with Sharan while representing Indian Oil, agrees with the sentiment that the Asian Games gold convinced him that it was time for him to partner a compatriot over a sustained timeframe, a first for him since teaming up with Bhupathi in 2013. “I really feel that (the gold) helped us as a lot... the good camaraderie got us through those matches. At the end of the day, you know whether as a partnership you can get better. It was a huge boost for us,” he said.   

What makes Bopanna (World No 37) and Sharan (World No 39) tick as a partnership is a way they complement each other. While the former possesses explosive groundstrokes from the baseline, the latter’s ability near the net is a touch underrated. The southpaw explained further. “We had anyway known each other for a long time so we already had a good understanding when we decided to form the partnership. I think we complement each other well. Rohan has a great serve on him and is very explosive with his groundstrokes and I am a lefty so we can also bring that right-left combination into the equation.” 

It’s this thing that the pair will focus on in the opening months of the year. “I think the first two-three months... it’s important to focus and build on what our strengths are as a side and then take it from there,” Bopanna said. That’s why the pairing, seeded first at the Tata Open, haven’t really set a specific target. “We are playing well at the moment, the target now is to get into the groove and just keep doing the basics right. We don’t want to do anything crazy right now.” If Tuesday was all about clearing the first hurdle, Thursday gives them their biggest test yet as a pair on Tour. Their opponents? The team of Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela and Leander Paes.