'Bofors' Bopanna walks into sunset

Tennis legend Rohan Bopanna announces retirement, ending a 20-year professional career

- S KANNAN

Level 45 tennis legend Rohan Bopanna walks into the sunset, leaving behind a treasure trove of memories. On Saturday, Bopanna sprang a surprise of sorts, having pushed hard over the last few years of his professional tennis career against all odds.

In a recent chat with Millennium Post in October, Bopanna said, "Each year at this time I contemplate whether I should continue with tennis or not. I guess I will take a call and you will know." The tall and strapping Coorgi commanded respect from the global tennis fraternity.

This generation may know him as a doubles star, but when Bopanna burst onto the scene at the Nationals on grass in December 1997 in Duliajan, Assam, he was all fire and power. His serve was devastating then, as he shocked rising star Vikrant Chaddha. Not only did opponents fear Bopanna, but even the worms and insects below the grass surface might have been scared. His sonic serve came naturally and, for someone just 18 at the time, he looked intimidating.

Raw at first and later blossoming into a complete player, Rohan Bopanna's career had two phases-singles and doubles. How he reinvented himself and kept pushing despite injuries remains a lesson for athletes and fitness enthusiasts alike.