How come Leander Paes-Rohan Bopanna was best team for Olympics, and now AITA thinks we are not?, asks Bopanna

On December 8, I got an email from AITA asking me if I was available for the tie. They gave us a deadline of December 21. On the 10th or 11th, I replied saying I was available. But I heard the news only through the media. Till today, I haven’t heard from them. The least they could have done was send an email or give a courtesy call. Anytime, anywhere in the world they’re able to reach us. So I don’t think it was that hard.

What do you make of the reasons given for dropping you?

What’s shocking are the grounds on which I wasn’t picked. Despite me being the highest-ranked player in the country, one reason given was technical that I’m an ad-court player. All these people in the selection committee are former players who have played the sport at the highest level. What I don’t understand is how hard can it be for you to do your homework and check what player has played what. In 2012, I played with Mahesh, I played on the deuce-court and we made the London Masters final. In 2015 and 2016, I played with Nestor on the deuce-court. I think I’m one of the few players to have won ATP tour events, 250, 500 and 1000 on the ad-court as well as the deuce-court. I don’t think many players have done that. So to give such an example as the reason for not being picked, does not really make sense to me.

And they picked Saketh and Leander because they won just one set against (Rafael) Nadal and Marc Lopez of Spain. So today, we’re going to pick a team that won one set?

In a tie where you can win 15 sets, we won just three. So I don’t consider that a great tie for us, unfortunately. I don’t think as a player, the captain would say ‘Rohan, get on the court, win one set and you’ll be absolutely fine.’ We’re professional athletes, we’re going out there to represent the country. We’re not playing an exhibition match. We’re going there to win the match. Whether we win one set or two, it still doesn’t win the match. You have to win three sets. That’s what surprises me.

But Saketh and you lost against New Zealand..

Saketh and me did lose in New Zealand. But what about the other two ties that we won? We won in India (against Chinese Taipei) and we won in Korea as well. Just because a team has lost once doesn’t mean automatically we change them. Also against New Zealand, the players we lost to were Artem Sitak and Marcus Daniell. And Daniell is not even in the team coming to Pune. If I was somebody looking at this, I would do my homework. Check who’s playing what, who’s done what. At the end of the day, you’re representing your country. Tomorrow, if I play Roger Federer and lose one set 7-6, then win the second set, then lost the third 6-0, it doesn’t make a difference. I didn’t move to the second round. People will say ‘ok, you played a great set’ but I still didn’t move to the next round.

What do you make of the three-singles-one-doubles player strategy?

I’ll support the captain’s decision. Last time we played in Bangalore against Indonesia was the same thing. They wanted three singles and one doubles. And they picked Leander Paes because he was the highest-ranked player. So what I’m saying is let’s have some consistency. Don’t have one year saying you’re picking the highest-ranked player, and then the next year you’re not because somebody won one set. Makes no sense.

Also when you pick singles players, your number one player should be ready to play all three days. In Chandigarh, at eight in the morning they called me and said I need to play today because the singles player was not fit enough. So you need to pick a singles player who is ready to play all three days, and if he isn’t ready, then find an alternative. If you have your number one player there, then if not three days, then at least two days for sure he should be able to play. You can’t just play one match. If you look at Andy Murray, Great Britain won their title (2015) because Murray played single-doubles-singles.

We want to qualify for the World Group. The last time was in 2011. In 2010, we beat Brazil in Chennai with three doubles and one singles player. So sometimes it’s not just the question of picking three singles players and one doubles player. It should be to see if someone is fit enough to be there for three days, and whether he can handle the pressure and situations there.

So, what’s the ideal system?

Have some consistency. Follow some rules. Tomorrow if ranking becomes a criterion, the ranking is picking itself and nobody is going to question it. Follow a system where not one player can question it. But there is zero consistency. There was an article quoting SP Misra saying ‘Leander and Rohan performed badly against Czech Republic, so we can’t fit them.’ Six months ago, I was saying exactly the same thing before Rio. Today, the same logic I gave them then, they’re giving it back to me now. So how come six months ago, the best team for Rio was that, and six months later it’s not logical. And in 2013, you’re picking your highest-ranked player, and then in 2016 you’re not picking your highest-ranked player. Follow a system. Follow something, that’s going to make a difference.

Rumour is that Leander Paes was picked so he can complete his Davis Cup doubles record…

If they’re doing that, that’s the wrong thing. You’re not picking players for their own individual record. You’re picking players because they have to play for a country, a team. The team comes first, not the individual. If they’re going on that basis, it’s wrong. When you’re doing it for yourself, you can do what you want. But when you’re playing for the country, the country comes first. That shows there is no respect for the country.

There’s always controversy in Indian tennis during team matches, and never during tour matches…

That’s because there is no system (of selection). If there was a system, there wouldn’t be any controversy. It’s frustrating for players. On the circuit, nobody can question things because they follow rules. Over here, there are no rules. It’s all according to convenience. You can’t choose according to convenience per year.

You weren’t available for the tie against Spain. Do you think AITA held that against you?

I had a knee injury I got in the mixed doubles at the US Open. So I called the captain there itself and told him I’ve hurt my knee. And the physio there asked me to take 10 days off. Genuinely, for any player who plays constantly from January to October, injuries are part of the game. So I called the captain from the US itself and told him what the physio had said after they got the scans. So I skipped the Davis Cup week and the week after the tournament.

You wrote a letter about you and Saketh being a better combination for the Olympics. But now they’ve cut you out of the picture…

They’re going by compatibility and partnership. That’s exactly what I was going by six months ago. But unfortunately, six months ago, compatibility and partnership was not logical to them. But today it is logical. They’re saying Leander and I didn’t do well against the Czech Republic in September 2015. And that’s what I told them before Rio as well. But they said ‘no, this is the best team.’

What do you make of Mahesh Bhupathi as captain?

I didn’t know about it until I saw the news. None of us were even asked or told about it (from the AITA). We heard that there was going to be a captain change. I didn’t even know that Mahesh was going to be captain till I read the news. I was in IPTL with him and I didn’t know. Only once I found out I sent him a message congratulating him.

What will he bring to the team?

The fact that he’s been on the tour till pretty much last year, he knows all the players (foreign) and how they play. That’s what will make a difference once he becomes the captain. And if they’re looking for a new captain for the future, that’s how they need to think of the team at the same time. You don’t look at the team one tie at a time. They’re looking at him for the future. He knows the players well, so they will be comfortable with him too, just like with Anand. He has played against the majority of the players so he knows their weaknesses. Also the fact that he’s been part of the team with Yuki (Bhambri), Saketh, Ram (Ramkumar Ramanathan). So tomorrow if we have any doubts, nobody is hesitant to ask him and he’ll tell them how it is.

With Mahesh coming in, what’ll that spell for Leander on the team?

Like I said, if you just follow a system, then no matter who the captain is or who the player is, you don’t have to worry. Only when there is no system, then that’s when all these things come into play. And there is no system. That has to change.

Do you think Mahesh will be able to bring about that change?

That’ll be great if we can get a system going with him as captain. I’m not saying ‘pick me for the next tie’. I’m just saying follow a system, then the system will pick players. Tomorrow if Purav Raja and Divij Sharan are ranked higher, then done. Pick them. Whether I’ve won so many tournaments or not, doesn’t matter.

About the incumbent, what made Anand Amritraj a good captain?

He was always a great captain. The first time I played under him was at the 2002 Busan Asian Games. He always motivates you on court, keeps you relaxed, he’s always fun to be with. When we went to Korea and beat them at home for the first time, it was under Anand. There were only six of us. We went out for dinners and camaraderie was great under Anand as captain.