Internet Desk: Somdev Devvarman today said it was right time for him to quit international tennis since the passion with which he used to play was “dying” and he felt he will not be able to play his best tennis.
At the age of 31, Somdev hung his racquet, having two runners-up finishes on the ATP World Tour as his best performances on the Tour.
Known for his baseline slugfest and sheer doggedness with which he played his game, Somdev gave India many memorable wins in the Davis Cup.
“I last played a match in Indian Wells in March (2015) and after that I had a chat with my people. I pretty much decided at that time that it was time to stop. I have read people saying I was injury plagued but it was not about that. I wanted to play for right reasons. Playing for me was always super fun and passion, that was dying or slowing down,” Somdev told PTI in an exclusive chat on the sidelines of Chennai Open.
“That is my biggest strength, my fighting spirit and that passion and heart more than forehands and backhands. Second, I knew I would not be able to play my best tennis. I wanted to be in top-100 and started reaching a point through injuries where I felt it will be tough for me to come back to top-100. Once I realised that I decided that it was time to stop,” he said elaborating on his decision.
“The enjoyment in training was not the same, the enjoyment in travelling was not the same. I was not tired I have done it for so long. It was not fresh. Playing and going for tournaments in Asia was not exciting for me,” Somdev, who touched a career-high rank of number 62 in 2011, said.
As he goes out of the scene, Somdev feels AITA has not been doing enough for the game since the will is not there.
“We need to change the culture how sports is looked at. Professional sport is not joke. People don’t understand that. We don’t have right people at the top, who truly understand what it takes to be world class athlete. The people in the National federations are not right ones to make decisions.
They do not do anything, and it’s a decision. I have not come from Indian system but from College system in US. I don’t see what AITA has done to churn out players. We don’t have training centres and don’t have expertise,” he said.
There was a players revolt led by Somdev in 2013 when AITA was forced to bring in a few changes about how Davis Cup team was run. Changes were also made in support staff and players’ share in Davis Cup prize money was increased.
“AITA needs to be open to taking suggestions from the players. Specially people in recent history because they know what is going on. They know what it takes to produce the players. With all due respect to bureaucrats in AITA, I don’t think they have a clue.
“They (AITA) have done bare minimum. They just justify what they have done rather than take big steps. Don’t compare what other sports are doing, compare with what your sport is doing internationally. Who they hire to run programs,” he said.