[1]Rohan Bopanna believes his camaraderie with state-mate Mahesh Bhupathi will hold them in good stead as they begin a new journey together on the ATP Tour.
The duo will be teaming up in the new season starting at Chennai Open with the prime objective of winning the doubles gold medal at the London Games in July.
“This was a conscious decision on our part as we had our eyes set on the Olympics. I have known Hesh (Bhupathi) since I played my first Davis Cup match in 2002, so we go back a long way.
I have also played a few tournaments with him in the past, and we do share an excellent rapport. From my experience with Aisam-ul Haq Qureshi (former partner) I know that being friends pays rich dividends on the court. We are practising hard to understand each other’s game better and I am sure the efforts will pay off,” Bopanna said.
Bhupathi and Bopanna will take a month off after Wimbledon to prepare for the Games. “My calendar for 2012 is not as packed as it has been in the past couple of years, since I am in a better position to pick the tournaments I will participate in,” he added.
Doubles success at Chennai has eluded Bopanna, who made it to the final in 2006 when he partnered with Prakash Amritraj. “It’s always a challenging tournament as it is the beginning of the season and coming from the off-season, you have to find your rhythm from the start to do well. Chennai also provides with just the right amount of competition and is a great start to the year,” he said.
Bhupathi and Bopanna along with Paes and his Serbian partner Janko Tipsarevic are the top two seeded pairs and will start as strong favourites.
“The tag comes with its own share of expectations and pressures. I hope Mahesh and I have a great outing at the season-opener,” he signed off.
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