Can India’s Cricket World Cup Charge Inspire Bopanna In Turin?

Rohan Bopanna is preparing for one of the most significant matches of his season Wednesday at the Nitto ATP Finals. While he will be fully focused on his latest doubles clash alongside Matthew Ebden at Turin’s Pala Alpitour, he may also look for inspiration from some fellow Indian sportsmen more than 6,500 kilometres away.

At the same time as Bopanna and Ebden’s Red Group meeting with Rinky Hijikata and Jason Kubler, the Indian men’s national cricket team will be in action in Mumbai, where it takes on New Zealand in a World Cup semi-final. In a country where cricket is akin to a religion, it is a huge occasion, and one that Bopanna is all too aware of despite being so far away.

“I am following it, of course” Bopanna told ATPTour.com when asked about the World Cup, where host nation India has won all nine of its matches so far. “I love cricket. Unfortunately, I have not been able to watch it, because Italy right now is not really showing the cricket, unless I try and find a stream online or something!

“I think the way India is playing this year, it’s really looking extremely good. I think, overall, [the whole team] is performing. It’s not just that one or two players are doing well. The bowlers, the batsmen, everybody is coming together as a team, and I think we’ve got some fantastic home support.”

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_{^{Matthew Ebden and Rohan Bopanna in action during their opening loss on Monday in Turin. Photo Credit: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour}}

India’s cricket players are widely recognised figures at home. Star batsman Virat Kohli has one of the most-followed Instagram accounts in the world, with 263 million followers, and he is one of a handful of cricket stars with whom Bopanna shares a positive relationship.

“I’ve met [Kohli] a couple of times, and most of the cricket guys, apart from those who have just come in the team,” said Bopanna. “Even the guys who have retired, starting from [Rahul] Dravid and Sachin [Tendulkar], [Mahendra Singh] Dhoni, all these guys. Once they had a football match with some cricketers and other sportsmen mixed against some Bollywood celebrities, so it was fun. We got to meet everybody.

“Sachin also came to watch my match at Wimbledon this year, so it’s nice. We’re just a handful of sportsmen across the country who represent India at a global level, so I think everybody respects each other.”

As one of the leading lights of Indian tennis for more than two decades, Bopanna can certainly relate to the feeling of representing a nation of more than 1.4 billion people.

“I take it as a great positive energy, that you’re not just playing for yourself, you’re playing for so many people out there,” said the 43-year-old Bopanna, who is the oldest competitor in Nitto ATP Finals history. “It’s a great opportunity to inspire so many people [at this] juncture of their lives.

“It doesn’t have to be young kids. To be honest, this year, the amount of people above 40, who have reached out to me, who are not just playing tennis, and just said they’ve been inspired with this journey of these last 10 months. Its brought them a new aspect in terms of energy and doing some stuff and really believing themselves.”

_{^{Indian cricket legends Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kolhi sat together at Wimbledon in 2015. Photo Credit: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images}}

Bopanna, who reached his career-high of No. 3 in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings in 2013, is a two-time finalist at the Nitto ATP Finals, having reached that stage in 2012 (w/Mahesh Bhupathi) and 2015 (w/Florin Mergea) when the event was held in London. Now competing for the fourth time at the prestigious season finale, he is delighted to be carrying the hopes of his nation for the first time in Turin.

“2015 is the last time there was Indian representation [at the Nitto ATP Finals],” he said. “After that there hasn’t been someone for such a long time. I take it as a great challenge. I think similarly the cricketers do as well. Everybody feels the pressure, but I think it’s beautiful just to take that energy, because that support is nothing like anything you can witness anywhere else.”