Movement and getting used to slide will be important at French Open, says Yuki Bhambri

Yuki Bhambri has had a remarkable year so far by his and Indian tennis' standards. He made inroads into the main draw of the Masters events on the hard courts of Indian Wells and then Miami.

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Speaking about the report into corruption in tennis which suggested there is a “tsunami” of match-fixing at lower-levels, Bhambri said it is something that exists in every sport. (Source: PTI)

Yuki Bhambri has had a remarkable year so far by his and Indian tennis’ standards. He made inroads into the main draw of the Masters events on the hard courts of Indian Wells and then Miami. And after clinching the ATP Challenger event in Taipei, he leapfrogged into the top-100 to breach the cut off ranking for the entry list at Roland Garros. It has earned him a direct entry into the main draw of French Open for the first time in his career.

Having done well on hard courts through his career, clay poses a different challenge. It is not his preferred surface and it can be observed by the fact that he’s only played 13 matches on clay in his career with a win-loss record of 8-5. He played the qualifying matches in Paris in 2015 (reaching the second qualifying round) and 2017 (losing to Peter Polanksy in first qualifying round). This time, he plans to ready for the step up by playing in Geneva.

“I will play warm up event in Geneva (last red clay event before French Open). Also, I will reach there one week before (to get acclimatised). The traditional French Open courts are not that slow, compared to other clay courts. I have nothing to lose,” Yuki said on the sidelines of an event to showcase French Open singles trophies.
“The movement and getting used to sliding will crucial. I have to stay patient during long rallies. That will be key. You have to play 3-4-5 shots before you to set up point, ” he further added. Geneva Open begins on May 19 with Roland Garros set to resume from May 27.

‘We have a clean sport’
Speaking about the report into corruption in tennis which suggested there is a “tsunami” of match-fixing at lower-levels, Bhambri said it is something that exists in every sport but it is encouraging that things are clean at the top level. “There are not much details. But every sport has its problem, there is no sport which does not have its own set of issues. The authorities have done a good job by keeping tennis clean.” The investigation surveyed 3,200 professional players and of those, 464 said they had first-hand knowledge of match-fixing. Bhambri further clarified that he had not come across any instances of match-fixing in Indian tennis.