As the Indian tennis contingent prepares for the Davis Cup qualifiers against Italy come 2019, Ramkumar Ramanathan — currently the No 2 singles player in the country — is keen for a turnaround.
Ramkumar, who had a mixed season, stressed on the need for experienced players such as Leander Paes to guide the younger crop.
Talking on the sidelines of the event, Celebrate Tennis , here on Sunday, Ramkumar recalled how much the contingent missed Leander when he pulled out of the Asian Games at the last moment. He was miffed at not getting a specialist men’s doubles partner.
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India had won five medals in Incheon 2014 but this time around — in Jakarta and Palembang — it could manage only three.
Ramkumar feels Paes’ presence could have changed the results. “Well, he is just Leander. He is a good friend of mine. Nothing against him. But I wish, he would have played that because it was Asian Games and anything would have happened. We all missed him there. I was supposed to play with him but that's how it is and it's sad that he could not make it,” he said.
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Need for breaks
With tennis players playing a lot of tournaments to maintain their rankings, Ramkumar feels a break is always required for a longer run. To cope up with this, he wants to take gaps between tournaments and play less tournaments in 2019.
“I mean, I play every month, I need to be fresh as well. I can't let stress, tiredness, tension affect me when I am playing any matches. Because you never know, how you feel after a few weeks.
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“Instead of playing eight tournaments in a row, I will look to play for a few weeks and then take a two-week break to be fresh for the next tournament. I will try to choose (wisely),” he added.
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