Nikoloz Basilashvili: It was a mistake to play with elbow injury and not opt for protected rankings

Basil will take on a familiar opponent in Chun-Hsin Tseng of Taipei in the first round of the Chennai Open on Tuesday.

FILE - Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili hits a return against USA’s Taylor Fritz during their men’s singles match on day two of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 17, 2023. | Photo Credit: AFP

By his own admission, Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia, ranked as high as 16 on the ATP tour in 2019 and now languishing outside the top 500, it was a mistake to have continued to play with an injury to his elbow and not to have opted for protected rankings.

Playing as a wild card in the main draw of the Chennai Open ATP Challenger tennis championships, Basil as he is called, said: “For the last 6-7 years I was playing on the ATP Tour, and it is difficult to play in the Challengers. I got the injury at the beginning of 2021. I continued to play and lost my rankings as I did not opt to have protected rankings. It was a mistake,” the 31-year-old said, after a tiring practice schedule with his coach at the SDAT-Nungambakkam Stadium here on Monday.

Basil was forced to do multiple surgeries on his right elbow this year and it took a toll on his game. “I did three surgeries on my elbow in 2023. It took a whole year to recover. I only started playing a couple of months ago. I felt that I was not ready, but at the same time, I thought I needed to move on and practice. Now am fine. There is no pain,” said the Georgian, who has beaten Roger Federer in an ATP Tour event in Doha in 2021 and has won five career ATP titles.

Basil will take on Chun-Hsin Tseng of Taipei in the first round of the Chennai Open on Tuesday. Basil knows his opponent well, having practised with him in pre-season. “I know him (Tseng) very well. We did pre-season together. He is a very competitive player,” he said.

This is his second visit to India—he took part in the ATP Maharashtra Open last year—and first to Chennai. “I am really happy to be here to compete in the main draw. The courts are good and comfortable to play. The weather conditions, though, are hot and humid,” he said.

Basil is confident of getting back to his peak form and maintains that it is only a matter of time before he gets back to the ATP Tour. “I am improving more and more. I must start winning matches. My confidence is not that good because I have not had any good wins (so far),”