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Disheartening to see selectors not doing their homework: Rohan Bopanna

Bopanna then explained how ranking is respected the world over.

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Rohan Bopanna Davis Cup July 2016
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Disappointed at being ignored for India's Davis Cup tie against New Zealand next month, Rohan Bopanna said he fails to understand why the All India Tennis Association (AITA) refuses to follow a set system that is in place the world over for selecting players.

"There has to be a system followed," Bopanna told DNA over phone from Sydney on Monday. "If there is a proper system in place, I don't think there will be any controversy in Indian tennis.
"And this is coming from me, the highest-ranked Indian at the moment," he added.

Bopanna then explained how ranking is respected the world over.

"The system throughout the ATP tour is if you're not high ranked, you can't get into certain tournaments. They follow a system. If it's a tournament of top-16 players, the 16 highest ranked players get in.

"So, when there is already a system in place like that, it just makes sense to follow it even in our country. It makes it very simple. I don't know why it's so complicated."

Despite being the highest-ranked Indian doubles player at No. 28, AITA selectors decided to drop Bopanna, and picking Leander Paes and Saketh Myneni instead as India's doubles pair for the tie against the Kiwis.

One of the reasons given by the selectors was that Bopanna was an ad court player.

"It's disheartening to see when the selectors are not doing their homework," Bopanna said. "They really need to look at it as a team, picking an Indian team, not an individual. When you are representing India, you are looking for Team India to win, and not about who plays which side of the court.

"I played the current tournament starting off at the deuce side, so it's not like I've not played there before. So, instead of looking at these small, petty issues, everyone needs to look at a bigger picture and see what's the best team for India," he added.

Bopanna gave the example of Spain, who fielded a full-strength squad for the Davis Cup tie against India in September last year.

"Spain sent their best team over here. They didn't look at India being a country with no player in the top-100. They didn't say, 'oh, we can send our lesser team there'. No. They sent their best team to India.

"So, if we want to compete at the top level, we need to follow the system the way it is followed the world over. I mean, we can't compete with the best when we don't have a proper system in place," he said.

The 36-year-old warned that if such controversies keep repeating itself in Indian tennis, it will drive kids away from the sport.

"It's time this stops. The media also has to put it out as well. Everyone has to ask the question, that at the end of the day, this is what it has come to. How long can we keep saying, 'it's happening for a long time'. If nobody makes a change, it is never going to happen," he said.

"Players are sacrificing a lot of things for this, not only from Davis Cup level, from the junior level. Not just the players, even the parents, coaches sacrifice so much to consistently get their ranking to a certain level. So, I hope it changes. If not for our future, at least for the future of the young players who are coming up and they can have a system in place.

"You don't want to get into a place where athletes coming in suddenly realise that this is not happening. It's a passion for any athlete to represent the country. They don't want to be going into that having such negativity around them.

"So, it's about time our sport follows a system. Trust me, there won't be any controversy if that happens. We have these problems only because there is zero system in place," Bopanna added.

Amusing that none of Chennai Open finalists are in doubles team for India: Jeevan

Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan, who has been sidelined from Davis Cup squad, said it was amusing that none of the four finalists at the Chennai Open were part of the national team for the tie against New Zealand. "Look, selection is something that is not up to us. But yes, I do find it amusing, to be honest. But my goal is not to bother about what the selectors are thinking about my game. I want to stay away from all the politics. If they feel they need me again, then yes, I do hope to get a call one day again."

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