Rohan Bopanna mulls the Tokyo Olympics doubles entries

The suspense about the Olympic entry for Asian Games gold medalists Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan continues, and there's no clarity about their spot in the waiting list.

Rohan Bopanna said he visited the ATP office during Wimbledon every day to get clarity about Tokyo Olympics entries, but he couldn't get a clear picture (File Photo).

Rohan Bopanna is back home after Wimbledon to be with his family, especially his two-year old daughter, before he gets a possible call for the Olympics in Tokyo.

The suspense about the Olympic doubles entry for the Asian Games gold medalists Bopanna and Divij Sharan continues, and there is no clarity about where they stand in the waiting list.

"Doubles entry was supposed to be purely on the basis of singles or doubles rank. But there has been some change. The two players from Portugal Joao Sousa and Pedro Sousa got singles wild cards. And they also got doubles entry despite their best combined rank shooting over 200," said Bopanna.

The former world No.3 Bopanna said that he visited the ATP office during Wimbledon every day to get some clarity about the Olympic entries but said that nobody had any list that would make the picture clear for anyone.

Bopanna also pointed out that the second Spanish team of Pablo Andujar and Roberto Carballes Baena had a best combined rank of around 170. Bopanna (38) and Divij had a combined rank of 113 on the entry cut-off date of June 14.

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"Not only us, some good teams have also not got their entry yet. Matwe Middelkoop and Robin Haase with a combined rank of 73 could not get in," Bopanna threw some light on the plight of the Dutch.

The All India Tennis Association (AITA) tried its best to impress upon the ITF to grant an entry for the Asian Games champions, but there was no positive response. "Anil Dhupar did everything possible," observed Bopanna, about the efforts of the AITA secretary general.

Incidentally, the Asian Games singles champion -- Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan -- gets a singles wild card for the Olympics, as per the provision in the rules.

"I have been playing every week from the third week of April. I decided to take a week off. If we get the entry for Olympics, I will go to Tokyo from here. Otherwise, after a two-week break, I will be playing in the U. S. circuit," added Bopanna.

He was happy with the way he played at Wimbledon, especially the mixed doubles with Sania Mirza. "I was happy with the way I served. Maybe, all the yoga that I am doing regularly is helping me.  Sania played well, but lacked the match exposure," said Bopanna.

The Indian pair had lost 9-11 in the third set against Jean-Julien Rojer and Andreja Klepac in the pre-quarterfinals, after not having dropped a set in the first two rounds.