Balaji looks to cement his place in elite group

CHENNAI: It hasn't been easy for Coimbatore tennis star N Sriram Balaji. An ankle injury kept him out of action for a while, which included India's Davis Cup campaign against Canada in September. But he came back strong, winning the doubles title in the ATP Challenger Shenzhen Open on Saturday with partner Vishnu Vardhan. It helped the World No. 147 in doubles gain a few crucial points as he looks to work his way into the top-100.“I’m very happy about the way things have panned out this week. I would like to thank Vishnu for being there with me considering this is just my second tournament after the ankle injury,” Balaji told TOI from Shenzhen on Saturday.
This was surely an important win for Balaji, but the highlight of the doubles specialist's career was his entry into the Indian team for the Davis Cup against Uzbekistan in April this year. Selected alongside Rohan Bopanna, Ramkumar Ramanathan and Prajnesh Gunneswaran, the 27-year-old realised his long-standing ambition of playing for the Indian tri-colour for the very first time in his career.
What made the occasion even more memorable for Balaji, whose journey had begun almost 18 years ago far away in the city of Coimbatore, was the way he handled his nerves and combined with Bopanna to brush aside the Uzbek pair of Farrukh Dustov and Sanjar Fayziev 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 and seal the tie in India’s favour. As Bopanna would himself go on to say after the match, it felt like Balaji belonged all the way through. “We kept each other relaxed. Balaji served well and that was the key. It didn’t feel that Balaji was playing his first Davis Cup match,” Bopanna had opined.
Recalling the moment, Balaji said: “It was an extremely special feeling for me to play for the country. That had always been my dream and for me to achieve it finally was a big thing.”
While representing India was something he had always yearned for, the praise he received from a veteran of Bopanna’s stature was almost as rewarding and has motivated the youngster to find a regular place in the team.
“Bopanna has helped me a lot with regards to improving my all-round doubles game ever since that Davis Cup encounter. It always acts as a huge source of motivation to receive good comments from him. Definitely, I would like to establish myself in the team going forward.”
Balaji could have built on that appearance having been selected for the Canada tie in September, but he suffered the injury during his training sessions with the team in New York.
As a result, he was sidelined from the game for almost close to three months. Having recuperated sufficiently now, Balaji has made his way back and his win on Saturday has been a shot in the arm. "I would love to build on this going forward," Balaji said.
If he gets into the top-100, it will be a big achievement for him, especially because he comes from a city which doesn't have the best tennis infrastructure. “But infrastructure is much better in Coimbatore now than when I used to play. There is no excuse for anyone not to make it anymore. Studies might still be the first priority for the people of Coimbatore, but things should change,” he said.
Talking about his initiation into the sport, Balaji recalled: “My dad was a university volleyball player. I was very much interested in sports as a result. It was just coincidence that I joined tennis and eventually started getting good results and then stuck at it thereafter.”