When Sriram Balaji arrived to Paris earlier this week, he wasn’t sure if he would get a chance to play at Roland Garros. But thanks to a few withdrawals, he made it to the draw as an alternate. Few days later, he is now in the 3rd round of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career!
We caught up with him after the match to gather his thoughts:
Q) First time in the 3rd round of a Grand Slam. How does it feel?
Balaji – It’s great. Two days ago, I was not even in the tournament. So I’m just happy to be here. Just taking it one match at a time. Really glad. First time in the 3rd round of a Grand Slam and in the second week of a Grand Slam. So very happy about it.
Q) You were a set and a break up. They got back. It was pressure tennis. The crowd was big and fully on their side. Did the crowd play a part in their comeback? How did you deal with it?
Balaji – Definitely for them, yes. I faced a similar situation in Pune last year. The crowd was supporting us and giving us extra motivation and energy. For them, it would have been the same today.
I didn’t feel anything to be honest. Before going to the court, I knew it was going to happen. So I was just calm and I wanted to focus on my stuff. But in that stretch (in the 2nd set), we won just 2 out of 15 or 16 points. They were also zoning. We didn’t do anything bad but they just came up with great tennis. Probably our service games were a little predictable. They read it and we couldn’t do anything.
We spoke in the toilet break (after set 2). We didn’t change anything but it’s just that we didn’t let them zone in the 3rd set.
Q) You’ve been playing with Begemann lately. How come you entered with Reyes-Varela here?
Balaji – Begemann’s ranking is still 120. So we wouldn’t have gotten in here. Even with Vicky (Reyes-Varela), I was looking for someone who I could get in directly with. We spoke just one day before the sign-in and he also didn’t have anyone. So we ended up signing together (laughs).
Q) You might play Bopanna next. He’s been a big mentor for the Inddian doubles players. Thoughts on playing him possibly?
Balaji – He’s been a mentor for all the players. But the thing is I have nothing to lose. I was not even in the tournament (two days ago) and now I am in the 3rd round. I am just going to play free. I respect him a lot but it’s a match. So I am going to give my best. Hope the better team wins.
Q) Bopanna is going to select his partner for the Olympics in a week from now. Was there any extra pressure on you to perform well in the last few weeks because of that?
Balaji – A little bit it was going on in my mind. Also, Yuki (Bhambri) is ranked higher than me. They played Asian Games together. It’s all up to Bops (Bopanna). If he selects me, I will be happy. If not, I’m okay also. I do have a little bit of expectations, but it’s up to him (laughs). I don’t have any choice here.
Q) You’ve been steady in the top 100 for the past couple of years. What have you been working on? And what are the things you need to work on to take the next step to crack Top 50 and beyond?
Balaji – In the last couple of weeks, I was just having some conversations with Bops (Bopanna). He was helping me with my game. I was in Rome two weeks ago to watch him play. I was in transit, so I thought I will go watch him. That’s when he mentioned one very important point which I have been following in the last couple of weeks. It was about the second serve returns. He said you cannot miss the second serve returns. It has been going on in my mind every time I step on court. And every time I face a second serve, I tell myself that it has to be inside the court. It doesn’t matter they put away a winner. It’s been helping me a lot.
Other than that, I a focusing a lot on things I am not good at. Balu Sir (Balachandran Manikkath) is here with the Doubles Dream of India project and he’s been helping me. Without their support, I don’t know if he would have been so many players in the Top 100/150. I was just checking today morning, and we have 8 players in the Top 107. Without their support, we wouldn’t have been here. Abhi Sir (Abhimanu Singh) is also here as the fitness trainer. So a big thanks to the project and Kishore Patil Sir for his support.
Regarding my game, Balu Sir is helping. In Frankfurt in my academy, Alex (Waske) and Basti (Bastian Suwanprateep) have been behind me. I’m just getting constant support from all sides, focusing on positives, and leaving the rest behind. Bops’ coach Scott (Davidoff), he’s also been helping me with small things. So I’m getting good energy from all sides and moving ahead with positive things.
Q) About the second serve bit – trying to put it in every time, do you think it’s forcing you to be more conservative with your returns?
Balaji – I am still figuring out the balance between not being really soft and not going really hard and miss it. I am still not perfect at it but I am working on it. Hopefully I’ll get there soon.