Leander gets the best out of his partners: Somdev Devvarman

The Champions Tennis League (CTL) is approaching its business end. How has the experience been playing for the Punjab Marshals so far?
I've enjoyed it, to be honest. I've always enjoyed playing in the team format and I think what the CTL has done is very creative. Obviously, playing alongside fantastic players like Leander (Paes), Garbine (Muguruza) is a lot of fun, and also playing against competition like Juan (Carlos) Ferrero, (Sergi) Bruguera, (Tommy) Robredo and (Alize) Cornet. I think it's very special for all the people involved.

The CTL has a lot of Indian players, unlike the upcoming International Premier Tennis League. Do you think this league can help develop the sport at the grassroots level, as also increasing its popularity in India?
I think so, because the one way of looking at it is (they're) trying things out. At the end of the day, you need to do something to create a buzz. And I can't think of many other better ways to create a buzz about a sport than bringing the best players in the world over here. So it's a fantastic idea. I think it can only help creating that buzz, and hence growing the sport in India.

Considering the cramped tennis calender, do you really think this league can be sustainable in the long run?
Yes, absolutely. The good thing is that they've been looking after the players, with the way they have set up the travel schedule. So we've been playing two matches back-to-back in every city, and I feel that really works for the players' schedule. We play so many matches, and you don't want to play every match in a different place. Also, all the teams stay together. So I think in terms of players, it's quite sustainable. And there are six teams, so there are a lot of Indian players that can come in it and I think it's sustainable for sure. At least, I hope so!

You're playing doubles with Paes in the league. That must be an exciting partnership for you, isn't it?
Oh yeah, it's really fun. I've been looking forward to playing with him for a long, long time and I haven't really had a chance. Now we've played three sets together and we've won all three (smiles). So I'm feeling really good about that. It's always an honour to play with a great champion like Lee and with someone who always somehow gets the best out of most of the partners that he plays with. He's doing that with me for sure. So it's fun, a big learning experience for me and I'm really looking forward to playing with him in the future too.

Talking about your form personally, you won the Delhi Open in February and finished runners-up in the $50,000 ATP Shanghai Challenger tournament in September. How do you look back at 2014?
I mean it was ups and downs, really. Every year that I play, I always look back and feel that I could've done better. It's kind of how I've been since I was a kid. Right now, I am just at that point where I'm looking at how I can improve things next year, looking at the mistakes that I made, the things that I did well, and move forward from there.

Your Davis Cup win over Serbia's Dusan Lajovic must've been one of your high points of the year, isn't it?
Yes, absolutely. It's always good to win a Davis Cup match, especially in a World Group playoff tie against one of the best teams in the world (Serbia). So it was a great feeling.

What targets have you set for yourself in 2015?
I'm outside the top 100 now (World No. 139). So obviously, the first thing would be to get back in, and kind of build from there. I didn't have a great mid-season last year, where I didn't play so well from about June to August. But on the bright side, I have a lot of opportunities next year to move up in the rankings every week. So hopefully, I can take advantage of that.

SOMDEV IN 2014
Current ranking: 139
Win/loss ratio: 7/11
Titles: 0
Prize money: $218,896