Standing tall amidst the crowd

However, that was not to be. Rohan soon horned his techniques at Deccan Gymkhana, Pune, following a meeting at Mysore between his father Machanda Ganapati Bopanna and the former Davis Cupper turned coach Nandan Bal, for his betterment.

As if proper coaching and guidance were the incomplete elements, the lad from Coorg, in Mysore, soon began delivering the goods.

Says Rohan, “I did not do well in the juniors too, but that did not depress me. There was no point in crying foul over the time which was no longer on hand. So after coming to Pune, I decided to concentrate at the senior level only.”

His consistency and confidence on the two Indian ITF Satellite circuits stands taller then his words. The 19-year-old gave the best performance among youngsters on the circuit, making five second-round appearances this year, and one quarter-final in the Masters, in Mumbai.

“I was happy when I reached the pre-quarters twice in the Satellite played in May as that was my first Satellite tourney. But this time, till the third-leg (Pune), I was pretty upset about myself. I had made no progress, making the pre quarter-final a permanent stop.

“Though my friends were happy about my consistency, I certainly was not satisfied. I wanted to break the jinx and go on.” Determination finally paid off as the lanky youngster, who stands 6’2" tall, defeated seventh seed Sandeep Kirtane to gain a last-eight berth in the Mumbai Masters before loosing to Tom Chicoine (USA).

“Yeah! The Satellites’ swelled my confidence. I have beaten players ranked higher than me. The need now is continuity, which means I need to play these tourneys more,” exclaims Rohan, who has 1200 ATP points.

Rohan poses a new challenge in the seniors. His height is an advantage in itself, and his on court aggressiveness at times helps in subduing the opponent. Even Rohan accepts it: “I often get angry. But I like it that way. Many a times my friends tell me that I should smile, which may neturalise my aggressiveness. Maybe next time I’ll try controlling myself and sport a smile.”

Says Nandan: “I have seen Rohan as a very free player, who has good strokes. The only thing, he needs to improve upon is to be more consistent on the crucial points. It’s something which comes by playing more tournaments at higher level. I believe, Rohan should be a much better player in the next six months," predicts Nandan.

On his chances to play for India, Rohan optimistically hopes of an outside chance of making the India `A’ squad for the Asia Cup this month, though he does not figure among the probables.

Finally, like every ambitious tennis player, Rohan too wants to play on `the elite’ Davis Cup team. But the youngster very well knows his ground. “I know I will have to do a lot, lot and lot better to reach there. And if things work out as planned, I should be there in two years time,” says Rohan authoritatively.

Rohan’s father wants to send him abroad for advanced training. But finance — which is so necessary these days — puts their plans on hold, with a hope that someone might come forward.

So, do we finally have that rare entity in Indian tennisÿ– somebody who starts doing better and better after the age of 19? For certain, Rohan, deserves a closer look by the country’s apex tennis body.