Chandigarh coach lauds Divij’s entry into Grand Slam

Birbal was one of the few coaches to have worked with Divij when he was making his presence felt on the tennis scene. Their association began seven years ago when Divij’s father,Madhav,requested Birbal to accompany his son on tours and assist him with his game. Both shared a mutual respect for each other and as Divij slowly started to get foothold in the sport,Birbal knew his ward would make it big. But playing in Wimbledon,the most prestigious Grand Slam,and representing India with other perennial performers like Leander Paes,Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna- who will also take part in doubles category-was something that not even Birbal had dreamed of.

“Whenever we take a player under our wings,our aim is to take him to the Grand Slam level. When I spoke to Divij last time,he said he wants to play in a Grand Slam event. Now that he has reached there,it is time to celebrate. The credit goes to him,as he is focused on his target and working hard towards his goal. Getting into Davis Cup team and then some good wins in the Challengers must have given him a boost,” added an elated Birbal.

Nostalgia grips him when asked about his first assignment with Divij. It was seven years ago,during the four-Test home and away tennis series between India and Pakistan held in Islamabad,Lahore,Chandigarh and New Delhi in 2006,when Divij was part of the Indian team that already had other exciting talents like Rohan Bopanna,Karan Rastogi,Vivek Shokeen. The Pakistan team,on the other team,had star players like Aisam-ul Haq,included Aqeel Khan,Asim Shafik and Nomi Qamar.

In fact,while working with him,Birbal saw a surge in Divij’s ranking as he jumped 500 places to gain entry into Top 400 in the ATP rankings. His performance earned him a berth in the Davis Cup team for the tie against Kazakhstan in 2007. Now ranked 91 in ATP,Divij is the fourth highest ranked Indian doubles player after Mahesh Bhupati,Rohan Bopanna and Leander Paes.

Heading north

DURING last year’s Davis Cup tie against New Zealand in Chandigarh,Birbal met Divij after a long time as Birbal was busy with other assignments,including coaching at CCTA,while Divij was constantly on the move,playing Challengers across the globe. So,it was an emotional moment when both met. Watching from the stands,Birbal cheered for Divij and Vishnu Vardhan as the Indian players defeated their New Zealand counterparts to help India to a 5-0 victory.

Divij’s career took off after that as he formed a successful partnership with Purav Raja and this year the duo has won the Kyoto Challeners,besides ending as runners-up in Challengers event at at Nottingham,Johannesburg and Leon,Mexico. ” “Divij won his first tournament when he defeated Purav in the qualifiers of ITF Satellite Masters in 2006. They both are hardworking and their achievement augur well for other upcoming players as they have shown that there are other options to explore in tennis rather than focusing on singles only. Doubles is as important as singles these days,” hoped Birbal.