The Olympics-bound pair of Rohan Bopanna and Sriram Balaji had a rough start in Hamburg, losing to the German pair of Schnaitter/Wallner 1-6 4-6. Coach Balu, who is with the team in Hamburg, and will also accompany them for the Paris Olympics, shares his insights from the match below:
1. Thoughts on Hamburg R1 Loss
Q: First time Bops and Bala paired up since their Davis Cup win against Uzbekistan in Bengaluru, 2017. It’s been a long time since then. Can you review the match today?
Coach Balu: This match was a totally different scenario compared to the Davis Cup match. Individually, both players have made changes to their games since then. Balaji has improved considerably. This match was on clay and served as a warm-up for the Olympics, with both players wanting to get a few matches together. They were expected to win this first round here, especially since their practice sets had gone well, and they hadn’t lost any sets since Sunday.
During the match, the opponents were serving really well, while we didn’t serve as well and were not getting free points, which added to the pressure. We still had chances early in the first set and even had opportunities to break in the last game of the match. Overall, the opponents played better today, serving and returning better than us.
It was tough luck losing this match, but there is a lot to learn as a team for Bopanna and Balaji, which we can work on before the Olympics.
2. Rationale behind pulling out of Umag
Q: They have pulled out of Umag next week. What’s the rationale behind that? Isn’t just one match together too little going into the Olympics?
Coach Balu: The decision to pull out of Umag is because the tournament has scheduled the finals for the 25th, not before 9 p.m. Even if we lose in the semis, it would be a rush to get to Paris and play on the 27th.
Since Olympic arrangements are different from usual Tour events, we felt it was better to get to Paris early, get used to the arrangements for the Olympics, get an idea of travel time from the Village, practice on those courts, and be familiar with everything when the matches start.
Unfortunately, we lost in the first round in Hamburg, but it is better to be well-prepared for the Olympics than to try to get more matches and rush into playing the Olympics.
We also now have time to iron out the issues from today’s match and make a few changes, as we have a week to work on it. The travel to Umag and from there to Paris is also not direct flights—there’s a 2-hour drive to Venice and then a flight to Paris. We would lose a day for that. We would rather be fresh, and with Rohan’s experience of playing big events, I am sure we can do well there. Balaji will also be familiar with the Olympic surroundings when the matches start, allowing him to play without any pressure on himself.