Rohan Bopanna has been playing tennis for ages and has paraded his wares on the famous red clay of Roland Garros here for a number of years, but even for him coming back to represent his country with partner Sriram Balaji in the 2024 Olympic Games is something “special”.

“I don’t think there is any athlete in the world, who comes here, who will not be looking forward to the Olympics. For us in tennis to qualify to represent India here at the Roland Garros is very special. We have had some good practice sessions and have a good team around us in coach (M) Balachandran and physio Rebecca,” said the doubles specialist after a two hour practice session.

“We are getting a lot of time together, building up good camaraderie and sharing and that’s what’s going to help us. And also for the first time we have got a tremendous medical team helping in the recovery process. Athletes are getting a lot of support from the government and come well prepared now.

“The magnitude of the event is special. Coming back to Roland Garros and coming to the Olympics is a different ball game altogether. Come Saturday Bala and I will be giving our hundred per cent. In a couple of days the draw will be out and we are looking forward to it.,” said Bopanna.

Bopanna is teaming up with Balaji after seven years and one of the main reasons is Balaji’s ability to serve big.

“If you look at the conditions here it (court) is playing quickly and it is good to have somebody who can serve big and that’s one of the reasons I learned more to play with Balaji. Bonding off the court has helped us these last few days even though I have known him for a long time.

“Sharing space on the court is what is going to help us in close matches. This year, for the first time, they are going to have a super tiebreaker in the men’s doubles which has never been before. It’s going to be different,” he pointed out.

He advised Balaji, in his debut at the Olympics, to enjoy himself.

“The biggest thing is to enjoy where he is today. He has reached here on his merit. Go out there, relax and play your game – both of us will push each other.”

Coach Balachandran said the decision to skip this week’s tournament in Austria and come here to prepare was the right one as the conditions here were much different to those they encountered in Hamburg on clay.

“We decided in Hamburg to come here. It’s the right decision. Hamburg clay to these clay courts the conditions are different. The balls are also different. In my opinion these conditions suit Rohan and Balaji better.

“We had good practice sessions for two days. After 2017 they are playing together. Everything changes a little bit. We worked on that over the last two days. We will have different sparring partners tomorrow to fine tune it.

“We have (Roger) Vasselin and (Fabien) Reboul of France among the sparring partners. They are all playing in the Olympics. We have (Carlos) Alcaraz and (Rafael) Nadal also pairing up. Andy Murray is also pairing up. We have to pray we have a good draw. The first match is important. I will put my money on them against anybody from the second match, he added.