Indian Tennis Daily

Top seeded pairing of Rohan Bopanna & Matthew Ebden lost a close semi final match in the BOSS ATP 250 Tennis Tournament held in Stuttgart against the 4th seeded local pairing of Kevin Krawietz & Tim Pütz 6-7(6), 7-6 (12), 10-4.

We caught up with Rohan Bopanna after the match to share his thoughts on the match & the Grass Court season ahead.

Q. It was a really close match and there were just a few points here and there. Do you want to share your thoughts about the match?

Rohan: I think that’s the way when you play good teams on the grass courts. It is going to come down to those few points. First set I think we were the better team. We had more chances. We had three set points at 4-5 definitely. Very close game. I remember that point at 15-40, I connected on a forehand return that just hit the top of the net but you know those sometimes go in and then you win the set and sometimes it doesn’t go away and then even in the tiebreak we were up 5-3 I missed a crucial volley there at 5-3 which got them back on the serve.

But yeah, the second set I think they were far better than us. They played a lot more better. They had more chances – that marathon tiebreak which you know, we we came through and we pulled through to put in a super tiebreak. And in the super tiebreak I think we just played lose points right from the beginning, gave them a big start and then especially on the grass courts like this when everybody’s serving well it’s very difficult to really come back.

Q. How different is it to play on Grass courts compared to Clay & Hard courts?

Rohan: I mean the number one thing is that the surface is much quicker so you have less time to really prepare. You go with your instincts a lot more of the time and so you can’t really wait for it. You got to pick a target and straight away return especially in doubles. Everything is already so quick and when you play on a surface like grass it makes it even that much quicker and you know harder I think.

Q. You mentioned in one of your interviews that you have zero cartilleges left and grass is really hard on your knees. How are you coping with it?

Rohan: I mean the biggest thing is I have been able to travel with the physio and constantly work on my recovery. And that is the number one thing for me nowadays on how I really make sure after each match I get an ice bath, do all the mobilities, make sure my quads and glutes are always working with a lot of strength because then there is less pressure on my knees and especially when I lose muscle there, I get a lot more pain on the knees. And I am doing a lot in the morning, I do some yoga so that recovery process, I think, really helps it.

And on grass courts, it is harder because of the uneven surface and you are constantly staying low because the ball doesn’t bounce as much. So the muscles are always contracted. And it’s it’s harder on knees every day when I come back out of a match. It is always niggles here and there so I have to manage that.