Doubles Only Tennis Podcast

Rohan Bopanna Interview from the Miami Open

• Will Boucek • Episode 169

Share episode

Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.

0:00 | 13:49

Rohan Bopanna won the Australian Open earlier this year, reached #1 in the world, and turned 44 years old on March 4th.

I spoke with Rohan at the Miami Open after his round 1 victory. He and his partner, Matt Ebden, won that match in a third set after dropping the first. We discuss adjustments he made to turn it around.

I also asked Rohan how he spent his offseason after losing in the US Open final and finishing strong to end 2023. How did he come back better in 2024 at 43 years old?

At the end, we discuss lessons from his longtime coach, Scott Davidoff, and how to make doubles more popular.

See the shownotes for this episode here: https://www.thetennistribe.com/rohan-bopanna-interview/

-----

**Join the #1 Doubles Strategy Newsletter for Club Tennis Players** 


**Doubles Strategy Courses** These video courses will help you play smarter doubles and make winning easier.


**Doubles Ebooks** These guides offer proven advice to improve your doubles strategy.

-----

**Join the #1 Doubles Strategy Newsletter for Club Tennis Players**


**Become a Tennis Tribe Member**
Tennis Tribe Members get access to premium video lessons, a monthly member-only webinar, doubles strategy Ebooks & Courses, exclusive discounts on tennis gear, and more.


**Other Free Doubles Content**

Insightful Conversation With Rohan Bopana

Speaker 1

You're about to hear another interview from the Miami Open, this time with Rohan Bopana. So if you're not familiar with Rohan, he won the Australian Open earlier this year, he made the finals of the US Open in 2023, and he just turned 44 years old. He and I chatted after his round one victory, where they won in a third set. His partner is Matt Ebden, who I had on the podcast recently. He and I chatted after his round one victory, where they won in a third set. His partner is Matt Ebden, who I had on the podcast recently. I chatted with him at Indium Wells, so check that out if you have not already listened to that episode. But in this conversation with Rohan, we talk about their opening round victory. He made some specific adjustments to his return game in the third set 10-point tiebreaker. That obviously paid off because they won that match and then they went on to win their next couple of matches and they're actually in the final, which is coming up tomorrow.

Speaker 1

I'm recording this on Friday, the 29th, so by the time you listen to this, you'll probably know if he is the Miami Open champion or finalist. But anyways, we talk about that match in this conversation. We also talk about how he came back to win the Australian Open after coming so close in New York last summer. What did he do in the offseason to actually come back better at 43 years old? We also discuss what makes India so good at doubles. They've had so many great doubles players over the years, including Rohan, and why does he think that is the case? We talk about his coach, Scott Davidoff, what he's learned from him and then, of course, how to make doubles more popular.

Speaker 1

So I've been wanting to chat with Rohan for a while. This is not a super long conversation. Hopefully we can do a more extensive one later on down the road, but this is a really insightful one. You can tell Rohan is very thoughtful with all of his answers and very grateful to be in the position that he is. So, without further delay, enjoy this conversation from the Miami Open with Rohan Bhopana. All right, so I want to start talking about the match. You lost the first set 6-3, then you'll come back 7-6 and then win the tiebreaker. You didn't have any breaks during the match, but then in the tiebreaker it seems like you really raised your return level. Specifically, talk about the tiebreaker if you made any adjustments there, and then just the match overall.

Speaker 2

Um, talk about the tiebreaker if you made any adjustments there. And then just the match overall. Yeah, no, first of all, I mean, uh, you know we knew going into the match is going to be extremely tough match. Uh, especially our suri. He was already playing some good tennis, qualifying, winning around here, and uh, you know they've been playing fantastic, I mean the last uh few months.

Speaker 2

And yeah, it was unfortunate with the rain break. When we came back and I think the first point actually it was a big left serve which Matt hit, but unfortunately the referee didn't hear and I didn't really go to play. My initial reaction was stop. And there we go, go down, love 15 and tight game to lose that first set. But yeah, I think in the tiebreak I decided that I'll just stay aggressive and just pick a spot and go for it. I think in the game I was trying to do a couple more things and you know, when you know it comes down to the tiebreak, it is those one or two points which makes that difference and it actually paid off today pretty well. And I was talking to my coach, scott, and he also, I think, noticed that.

Speaker 2

And later he said that I'm glad that you went after just picking one spot. No matter, sometimes you're overthinking it. Oh, is the guy going right, is the guy going left? And then you're trying to do a few more things and in some way, I feel, when it it's a game, you think that you have more time and the tie break. You know that there's hardly any time. It's that one point do or die. So I think that is where the instincts kick in and I think that that's the adjustment I made and, uh, you know, that's the style I play and I think, uh, both of us just, uh, picked our return spots and went after it, and I think it really helped.

Speaker 1

Yeah, they landed well. Yeah, it seemed like you were hitting a few more kind of lob returns throughout the second set and then in the tiebreaker, you just started hitting out on it, which was obviously a good adjustment.

Speaker 2

Yeah it was. I mean, and you know, even though I hit some great lob returns I think Wawasori or Bolelli were hitting the second ball really well after that so I said, you know, let's maybe try and cut that off and, you know, do something different. And even the ones we missed, we both, I know, hit the tape a few times. So I think, yeah, it was just a very, very solid two tie breaks and with this format, you know it's eventually going to get there. There are it's eventually going to get there. I would say more than 80% of the matches go to the Super Time Break. We lost a couple of close ones the last two tournaments and it's good to get back on that winning side.

Speaker 1

I want to go back to the Australian Open real quick. Actually, even before that you make the US Open final. Then you have this, and you all had a good season after that as well, um, but then you have the off season and a lot of people might say you know, he had the us open final. I think y'all won the first set in that match. Um, at his age like that was his chance. But y'all came back and you were better and you won the australian open. What did you do in the off season to to raise your level even more? I think?

Speaker 2

uh, number one thing is to uh still believe in yourself. I mean, no matter who says on the other side. I mean, uh, you know, every athlete or every tennis player, uh, you know, having said he's gotten to that level from believing in himself. I mean, if you know, we listen to the outside world. I mean it's a free advice from everyone so it's easy for anyone to comment out there. It's you who puts in that work. And the off-season actually was really fantastic in Bangalore, because now we have a lot of doubles, guys from India, ranked from, you know, 60 to about 150, 180. We have almost 10, 12 guys.

Speaker 2

So, everybody came to Bangalore. I got them all to come to Bangalore and I told them, you know, it's very few countries, if not, we may be the only country that has so many doubles players who can be training together, and it's a great opportunity. I mean, everybody pushes each other and yeah, ran a fantastic off-season program there for a good you know, 10 days and it was really really great and everybody, I think you know, enjoyed it. And then, in a way, apart from the off-season, I also was there at home. Staying at home, spending time with the family, was nice and yeah, I think that really helped. And, you know, I think I was not only focusing on my off-season, but I was also looking at all the 10-12 guys on what they were doing, how they can improve. So I was also, I felt, learning in some scenarios watching them play.

Speaker 1

You know what can do better so you're kind of coaching them a bit.

Speaker 2

Yeah, I think so yeah, I was there for 10, 12 days doing that thing. So I think when you, when you look at it from an outside perspective, it also helps.

Speaker 1

Yeah, so that leads to another question um, so in dallas I spoke with um I'm gonna try to get the names right vj prashant and then, uh, anirudh chandra shakar. Yeah, I spoke with them and I asked them what makes India so good at doubles. So I'll just ask you the same question why is India so good at doubles?

Improving Doubles Tennis Popularity

Speaker 2

I think definitely the hand-eye coordination is very much inbuilt from a very young age. A lot of them learned to serve and volley. I think we always had fast courts growing up in the country, so there's not many courts which constantly rally. You're always trying to come in to finish the point. I think so that from a very young age they've been taught how to hit volleys or how to approach. So I think that transitions into doubles pretty well. So even the clay courts we have in India are fast. It's not snow clay courts. I mean I come from Bangalore, which is altitude. Pune, the tournament we used to always have, the tour we went for the last five years, is also altitude. So you know, everybody who played in India throughout kind of got used to those fast conditions. So I feel that was one of the significant reasons why I think we have that many more doubles players and of course, in the past we've had some doubles players.

Speaker 2

A lot of guys also look up to them and you know, thankfully uh, you know, later on your career you're still playing the sport you love, even by doing doubles, and I think it's a. It's wonderful that you get to travel the world, meet so many, you know people and still doing something you love, which not many times it happens.

Speaker 1

Yeah, so just two more questions for you. You mentioned Scott earlier. You'll have worked together for a really long time. At this point, if you could take one piece of advice or one thing you've learned from him and kind of deliver that message or that lesson out to other doubles players around the world, what would it be?

Speaker 2

I think, on court, when he's there, on how calm he is. I think that is something which I've learned a lot from and when he says something, I know he's really saying it at that right moment. He's a man with very few words when he comes on the court, so when he does say something, I know he's visibly seen something, what I'm not doing right or what I'm doing what I could do better, and he's a man with, like I said, few words, but very, very wise words, which I think makes a huge difference in sort of trying to give constant coaching every single game and trying to overwhelm the situation or, you know, confuse, uh, you know the player yeah, so last week, uh, I spoke with your partner, matt, about some of the potential changes coming for doubles, um, but I want to ask you how can we make doubles more popular?

Speaker 2

uh, I think the best way is to just get, uh, you know, fixed quotes uh, in some tournaments. So you know, the fans kind of know that the you know this is kind of a court for doubles where they can come and really, you know, see that opportunity and they, uh, you know also what will help if, uh, we have some timings of matches to known to the fans or what time the you know see that opportunity and you know also what will help if we have some timings of matches known to the fans or what time you know it starts. Exactly like you know, that also makes a huge difference in terms of A lot of people you know relate to them playing tennis by watching doubles. They're in awe. When they watch the singles players, you know the way they slide, the way they move. They're not replicating that on the singles players.

Speaker 2

the way they slide, the way they move, they're not replicating that on the tennis court, but they're replicating what's happening in the doubles court and I think they come to watch that and then try and go and do similar in terms of whether it is half volley first volley lob return. They see that and they say, oh, this is something I can try.

Speaker 1

So that connection is extremely good and I think that is a Really something I think we can build a lot more in in the doubles format. Yeah, yeah, it's something that the club players can do, just a lot slower, I think. Then, didn't you guys right? Yeah?

Speaker 2

I think that's when they love it. You know more I mean sometimes when I look at the singles guys, the way they slide on these hard courts, I think you know.

Speaker 1

you know that is just too much. I mean, I don't more. Sometimes when I look at the singles guys, the way they slide on these hard courts, I think that is just too much. I don't know, awesome. Thank you, rohan. Thanks so much. Thanks a lot. Appreciate it.