Bopanna’s raw talent was honed in Pune

“The only thing he lacked at that time was tournament experience. That is when I asked him to join my Academy in Pune,” he added.

Although cramped in a one-bedroom Karve Road flat with wife and dog,the family agreed to make necessary adjustments to accommodate the youngster and help him get acclimatised to the conditions. On court,Bal just let Bopanna express his free spirit to the hilt. “We had to work a little bit on his volleying,footwork and his net game but encouraged him to play his shots. We never tried to curb his exuberance and told him to go for his shots fearlessly,” he said.

Bopanna himself feels he has a strong connection with Pune. According to him he received the right kind of exposure in Pune that readied him for the senior level tournaments. Training under some of the best Indian coaches in India and playing amongst some of the best players resulted in a bright start to his nascent career which started at a late age. “I got a lot of different tennis ideas from experienced coaches like Nandan Bal and I played alongside some of India’s best. This helped transform me from a raw talent to a finished product,” he said.