One top 20 player can change Indian tennis: Tony Roche

Boria Majumdar poses for a photo with Tony Roche and Jaideep Mukherjea

Indian tennis is struggling. There aren’t any players on the horizon who can give us hope. Things aren’t well and it is now an accepted fact. While a few juniors have shown talent, there are no real stars on the horizon who can make people sit up and take notice. To make a difference to the doom and gloom, Jaideep Mukherjea, legend of the sport and one of the best ever, has launched a ‘revival and mentorship’ programme with Australian legend Tony Roche.

Roche, one of the best ever coaches and one who has trained stars like Roger Federer, Pat Rafter, Ivan Lendl and Leyton Hewitt, sounded cautiously optimistic about the future of the sport in India when we caught up for a chat over tea.

“You guys produced some great players in the 1950s and 1960s and was the best tennis nation in Asia. I will always remember the 1966 Davis Cup tie and must say it is disappointing to see India lose its pole position to other Asian countries like China and Japan in the last few years. With the kind of numbers you have in India, there is no question there is talent around. The question is how do you hone that talent. If you are able to produce one champion and one top 20 player, everything will change. My efforts will be to help make this change happen”, said Roche.

EXCLUSIVE | Mahesh Bhupathi: 'When there's no system in your country, it's very hard to produce champions'

Jaideep Mukherjea, who has roped in Roach as consultant for the programme, did not hold back. “I am doing all I can in my personal capacity. The problem is with the people who run the sport in India. The one’s who run tennis don’t know much about tennis. The players like Mahesh, Sania, Rohan or Somdev need to be involved and that has not happened. The sport can’t be used to serve personal ends. We need to produce a champion for unless we do so the sport will continue to struggle”, he argued.

Speaking on the modern game, Roche said that the sport is now a fundamentally different one compared to the days of the wooden rackets. “While we don’t grudge anyone, the truth also is the rackets and strings have much to do with what you see in modern tennis. If any of these players were asked to play with wooden rackets they would struggle. Except Roger Federer who would have still been a great champion, others would struggle is my view”, said Tony.

Also Read | Due to dew, why not start ODIs at 11 am in India!

When asked if he could lay down a path for revival, he noted down a three-part plan. “When John Newcombe and I took over the Davis cup responsibility in the 1990s we set out to do three things. First, win the Davis cup, second- produce a world number one and third produce a grand slam champion. It did take us time but over a period we fulfilled each one of our goals. It is indeed possible provided you are willing to put in the hard yards and provided you have a structure to support you. Our endeavour here will be to put some structures in place and give people the platform they need”, concluded Tony.

I have to say it was a morning well spent.