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Indian tennis star Rohan Bopanna opened up on the reason why he preferred Sriram Balaji as his doubles partner for Paris Olympics 2024 over Yuki Bhambri. Bopanna pointed out that Balaji was better on clay than Bhambri, which is why he chose him as his partner.
Tennis at the Paris Olympics 2024 will start on July 27, with Rohan Bopanna representing India in the men's doubles category. Being one of the Top 10 players in the world, Bopanna earned a direct entry into the Olympics tournament.
Bopanna's regular men's doubles partner is Australia's Matthew Ebden, but as per Olympics rules, the doubles teams should feature players from the same nation only. Hence, Bopanna had to choose an Indian, with Balaji and Bhambri being the top choices.
Rohan Bopanna chose Balaji as his partner for the mega event. Explaining the reason behind the same, Bopanna said in an interview with PTI:
"I felt Balaji, depending on the surface we're playing with, which is the clay, would have been the ideal partner. Currently, even if you look at (Matthew) Ebden, who I'm playing with, he's somebody who's more agile, more explosive on that surface."
Bopanna further pointed out that Balaji is more athletic and agile than himself as well, which is why his presence will benefit him.
Rohan Bopanna says he would have preferred Yuki Bhambhri for hard or grass courts
During the same interview, Rohan mentioned that he would have chosen Yuki as his partner if the surface for Paris Olympics tennis tournament was grass or hard courts.
"And for clay, especially, I need a partner who would suit me better in terms of going by the surface. If it was a hard court or a grass court, maybe Yuki would have been the preferred choice," Bopanna concluded.
Bopanna missed out on a medal in the mixed doubles category with Sania Mirza in Rio Olympics 2016. It will be interesting to see if he can end his career with an Olympic medal to his name.
