Gearing up for Wimbledon, dreaming of Olympics

CHENNAI:  Right after his second round bow out at Wimbledon last year, Indian tennis player Somdev Devvarman injured his shoulder. After a year and many ranking slips later, the 27-year-old is ready to get back into the game. “I’m getting back into shape and am aiming to come back before Wimbledon,” says Devvarman, who though hasn’t played any matches yet this year, is on a path to recovery. “But the French Open is definitely not a possibility,” adds Devvarman, who was in town to visit the Lacoste store at Express Avenue. Having been associated with the apparel brand since 2010, Devvarman says that wearing Lacoste makes him feel “confident and outgoing while on court”. Devvarman, who disappointed his Chennai fans by pulling out of the Chennai Open earlier this year due to injury, also subsequently pulling out of the Australian Open, says that though Wimbledon might his prime focus right now, his Olympic dream continues to remain. “It’s been a dream to represent the country in the Olympics since I was a kid,” he says, hoping that by the time he plays Wimbledon and has a few good runs in other tournaments in between, the Olympics will definitely be within reach. Devvarman, who began the 2011 season ranked 108, moved up to a career best of 63, before slipping to 84 after injury struck him. “Although I had a bad second half, I finished in the top 100, so I thought I was playing well,” he reasons. He is also positive that he is well on his way to get out of his slump, “I’ll definitely be able to get into a lot of tournaments that I would like to play because of my protected ranking. It’s just a question of pulling together a few matches – probably three of four good matches –  after that I’ll be back in the rankings,” he says. Though he admits that battling his injury was by no means easy, on the bright side, it has been a period of learning, “It has given me a new perspective of tennis and also a new understanding and appreciation for the game.”  He not only hopes that when he makes a comeback, he’ll be mentally refreshed to take advantage of his time off, but also definitely be back in the top 100. “I can hopefully end this year at (a ranking of) 75,” Devvarman says. “Staying injury-free is the biggest challenge. If I can accomplish that, the rest will follow.”