Tennis, Olympics 2024: Rohan Bopanna and Sriram Balaji lead charge; Sumit Nagal ready to run on clay

As we count down to the 2024 Olympic Games, the top competitors will be expected to continue to perform at the highest level, while others will hope to punch above their weight and reach for a spot on the podium. In the build up to the mega event in Paris, Scroll looks at the eight different Olympic disciplines where Indians have returned with a medal.

The beauty of the Indian tennis contingent’s build-up towards the Paris Olympic Games is that it has been gleefully bereft of controversy.

A three-man contingent will travel to Roland Garros – the home of the French Open – to compete in the tennis event. It is a small team, but a team built on merit.

One of the pros of the qualification system for the tennis event is that the rankings are almost entirely the sole component that matters. As a result, the world No 77 Sumit Nagal had reached on the ranking cut-off day, June 10, was enough for him to become the first Indian since Leander Paes in Sydney 2000 to compete in successive men’s singles events at the Olympics.

Paes is also the only Indian tennis player to have won an Olympic medal, when he clinched bronze at the 1996 edition in Atlanta, United States.

Nagal will be the sole Indian entrant in the singles draw. Spearheading the team, however, is the veteran Rohan Bopanna.

The former world No 1 doubles player earned a direct entry into the draw at Paris by virtue of being a top 10 player on the day of the cut-off – he was ranked No 4 at the time. The privilege of being in the top 10 allowed him to pick any partner of his choice. He chose N Sriram Balaji.

Better chance in doubles

As has been the case since the era of Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, it is in doubles where India holds a better chance of earning a spot on the Olympic podium.

Bopanna, however, did have the tricky question of whom to pick as his partner for the Olympics. Yuki Bhambri (ranked No 54 on the cut-off date) and Balaji (No 67 on June 10) were the two front-runners.

Though Balaji was the lower ranked player among the two, he is a strong player on clay. The 34-year from Coimbatore has been on a good run of form of late.

He won the doubles title at a Challenger tournament in Cagliari, Italy in April and ended as runner-up in the Perugia Challenger in June, both with his German partner Andre Begemann. On July 13, he finished as a runner-up at the Challenger title in Braunschweig, Germany with partner Gonzalo Escobar of Ecuador.

Having trained at the Alexander Waske Tennis Academy (previously called the Schuettler-Waske Tennis Academy) in Germany, Balaji is comfortable on clay. A powerful server with big ground strokes off both wings, particularly his two-handed backhand, he is a fine volleyer and is one of the fittest players on tour.

His footspeed and running could complement the imposing 6-foot-4 figure of Bopanna.

Also read: Rohan Bopanna interview: ‘I’m still able to compete at the highest level, that is a proud feeling’

The 44-year-old from Coorg has been the flag-bearer of men’s tennis in India for almost a decade. He did not make the cut for the delayed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, but has reinvented himself ever since.

A new fitness regimen has seen him find a second wind and race up the rankings on the tennis tour.

In January, he became the fourth Indian to rise to the world No 1 spot in doubles – after Paes, Bhupathi and Sania Mirza – and topped it off by winning his first men’s doubles title when he clinched the Australian Open.

With experience in abundance, Bopanna has strong weapons on the tennis court, with his serve helping him sail through service games almost at will.

On clay, however, fitness will come in to play.

The red dirt is the most physically demanding surface on the tennis tour, where rallies get prolonged and the footwork has to be adjusted on a surface that does not grip as easily as a hard court.

And the Paris Olympics comes shortly after the tour had moved to grass courts in the lead-up to Wimbledon.

The pair however, will be competing as a team at the ATP events in Hamburg, Germany and Umag, Croatia, before making the trip to Paris.

Nagal’s hopes in singles

Nagal, 26, has made good strides up the ranking ladder since he returned from injury to the tour last year.

He has won Challenger titles in Chennai and Heilbronn along with finishing as a runner-up in Perugia. In the process, he has broken into the top 100 rankings in men’s singles and has continued to grow.

Also read: Sumit Nagal – ‘When the body is right, the heart is there to compete’

Now, he is poised to make his second Olympic appearance after he reached the second round at Tokyo. What makes Paris special for him, however, is that it is on clay, and Nagal has long made clear his preference for playing on the surface.

A tireless runner with a powerful forehand, the Jhajjar-native has the heart and legs to grind on the most demanding surface there is in the sport. Interestingly though, his best Grand Slam results came on the faster hard courts of the Australian Open and US Open, reaching the second round in both events (2024 and 2020 respectively).

“As far as Sumit goes, this could not have been in a better place because clay is by far his favourite surface,” said former India No 1 Somdev Devvarman, who has been a mentor to Nagal, during an interaction ahead of the French Open.

“It’s a time of the year where he’s had enough breaks by that point. So, he should be completely fresh. And it’s two out of three sets. So, it’s a dream scenario for Sumit. And he should be licking his chops and ready to go. Because you can’t ask for a better opportunity than to play the Olympics [on your favourite surface].”

Nagal’s fondness for playing on clay may have prompted him to sacrifice match preparation for grass courts ahead of his Wimbledon debut.

But the 26-year-old being drawn towards clay cannot be mistaken for him being a medal contender. There are a host of top-name players competing in the men’s singles event at the Olympics.

The great Rafael Nadal will be there, as will current French Open and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz. Three-time Roland Garros winner Novak Djokovic – who is still chasing his first Olympic gold – will also be competing.

Then there are the former French Open finalists Stefanos Tsitsipas and Casper Ruud, former world No 1 Daniil Medvedev, reigning Olympic champion Alexander Zverev and current world No 1 Jannik Sinner.

Nagal will have his work cut out in the men’s singles draw. But he has proven time and again that he has the stomach for a fight. And on his favourite surface, he will be looking to make a solid impression.

The tennis event at the Olympics will take place from July 27 to August 4.

Indian contingent

Men’s singles: Sumit Nagal

Men’s doubles: Rohan Bopanna and N Sriram Balaji