No joy in changing partners: Bopanna
Seven months into the season, Rohan Bopanna has stunningly partnered seven different players on the ATP circuit. This may sound unsettling, but if one gets down to number-crunching, the season so far has been fruitful for the strappinbg Indian doubles ace, with his rankings at an all-time career high of five.
The frequent switch in partners, hasn’t affected Bopanna, who reached his first Wimbledon semi-final earlier this month.
The 33-year-old had in April announced his reunion with Mahesh Bhupathi following a brief partnership with Rajeev Ram. But that stint lasted just five tournaments.
Bopanna, who on Thursday, spent the afternoon with 25 budding talents from the Go Sports Foundation, dwelt on the reason behind parting ways with Bhupathi.
“This year I’ve had different partners from the start of the year. You always want to go with a trusted partner but at times you can’t. Mahesh and me were doing really well at ATP events but were struggling a bit especially at the Grand Slams,” said the Kodava.
“That’s the reason why we decided to go with different partners for Wimbledon. Fortunately my association with Edouard Roger-Vasselin worked brilliantly as we reached the semi-finals.”
Confirming his association with Roger-Vasselin, the big serving Bopanna said, “I am going to be playing with Edouard from Cincinnati Masters onwards; he’s not playing at Washington and Montreal as he’s taking off for those two weeks.
“Playing singles is his main priority at the moment and I need to respect that. I definitely want to stick with one partner, I don’t enjoy changing partners. I believe the tough matches in the early rounds at Wimbledon helped us bond better.”
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