Somdev Devvarman today said it was right time for him to quit international tennis since the passion with which he used to play was "dying" and he felt he will not be able to play his best tennis.
At the age of 31, Somdev hung his racquet, having two runners-up finishes on the ATP World Tour as his best performances on the Tour.
Known for his baseline slugfest and sheer doggedness with which he played his game, Somdev gave India many memorable wins in the Davis Cup.
"I last played a match in Indian Wells in March (2015) and after that I had a chat with my people. I pretty much decided at that time that it was time to stop. I have read people saying I was injury plagued but it was not about that. I wanted to play for right reasons. Playing for me was always super fun and passion, that was dying or slowing down," Somdev told PTI in an exclusive chat on the sidelines of Chennai Open.
"That is my biggest strength, my fighting spirit and that passion and heart more than forehands and backhands. Second, I knew I would not be able to play my best tennis. I wanted to be in top-100 and started reaching a point through injuries where I felt it will be tough for me to come back to top-100. Once I realised that I decided that it was time to stop," he said elaborating on his decision.
"The enjoyment in training was not the same, the enjoyment in travelling was not the same. I was not tired I have done it for so long. It was not fresh. Playing and going for tournaments in Asia was not exciting for me," Somdev, who touched a career-high rank of number 62 in 2011, said.
As he goes out of the scene, Somdev feels AITA has not been doing enough for the game since the will is not there.
"We need to change the culture how sports is looked at. Professional sport is not joke. People don't understand that. We don't have right people at the top, who truly understand what it takes to be world class athlete. The people in the National federations are not right ones to make decisions. They do not do anything, and it's a decision. I have not come from Indian system but from College system in US. I don't see what AITA has done to churn out players. We don't have training centres and don't have expertise," he said.
There was a players revolt led by Somdev in 2013 when AITA was forced to bring in a few changes about how Davis Cup team was run. Changes were also made in support staff and players' share in Davis Cup prize money was increased.
"AITA needs to be open to taking suggestions from the players. Specially people in recent history because they know what is going on. They know what it takes to produce the players. With all due respect to bureaucrats in AITA, I don't think they have a clue.
"They (AITA) have done bare minimum. They just justify what they have done rather than take big steps. Don't compare what other sports are doing, compare with what your sport is doing internationally. Who they hire to run programs," he said.
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When reminded that it was tough to generate money for a sport like tennis in India, Somdev said it was a myth.
"Do you think India lack money. I think everyone in Association has a role. We don't know what their roles are. There are people in AITA who can raise a decent amount of money. Look at the Life Presidents of AITA, do you think if they make a call or two, they can't generate money?
"The will is not there. Expertise is also not there. May be they do it for a month but consistency is not there. It's going to be a 5-10 year plan. You don't produce tennis players in 2 months," said Somdev.
It was at the Chennai Open in 2009 that Somdev had his first big moment as he made the final and lost to Carlos Moya in the final. In 2011, he reached the title clash of Johannesburg but lost to Kevin Aderson.
Somdev does not have any regrets but he would have loved to have an ATP title and take India to Davis Cup semifinals.
"I would have loved to win a Tour event and to get India to semis of Davis Cup. It would have been nice to win a few matches at World Group stage but no regrets. I have given my best. People now say we need to have three singles players but there was a time when we had three doubles players and me as a single player. There was joke that who is going to play singles for India but we still reached World Group Play-offs with that team," he said.
Asked if he thought his defensive game was not up there to match the game style that evolved in modern day tennis or he felt he was not getting the desired results that influenced his decision to retire, Somdev said 'it's neither".
"It's tough to say. Sometimes it's time for transition. When you are kid, you like playing with racing cars. It was just time. My coaches saw dip in me. This conversation was there for about a year."
Asked who did not want him to quit, he said, "Everybody. My dad wanted me to play more. My mom and girlfriend were supportive. They liked me seeing playing Davis Cup."
Asked that a few seniors like Leander Paes is still there at age of 43 and Mahesh Bhupathi also played some Futures last year, Somdev said, "Everybody has a journey, this is mine, I won't comment on others. I was trying to change things to give myself a change. Tried new diet, coach but biggest weapon is heart and that can't be fake."
Somdev said it was a tough decision to make.
"It was not (easy). Once I knew why, then I think it was pretty simple. I still hit the ball well but it was the right time. I am proud of a lot of things. I worked as hard I could. I can happily hold my head high."
Somdev picked a few moments from his career as his best.
"Looking back, making the finals of Chennai and Johannesburg is something I am very happy about. I came back from 2012 surgery and broke into top-100 by end of 2013 and was named candidate for Comeback of the year. Winning singles and doubles medals in Asian Games and CWG, there were a lot of nice things."
Somdev asserted that he did not have any worst moment but said there were some tough ones.
"Tennis has shaped me as a human being. There is no compromise on hard work. Biggest weapon is fight in your heart. That holds true in life."
Somdev said he still has not decided what he eventually would do but his future surely lies in sport.
"I am not sure that's why I am not committed to anything. Future is in sports, tennis is high possibility because I am so well connected internationally."
He said he never threw his hat for Davis Cup coach as was reported when AITA decided to replace Anand Amritraj with Mahesh Bhupathi as captain.
"I never put my name out there."
Asked what is lacking in Indian players as they have not been able to climb the ladder up in singles, Somdev said India does not have right system to churn out players. He also emphasised that being genetically inferior to Europeans was just a myth.
"It's fair to say we are little worse but not that much. A lot of Indians give excuse that we're not big like De Potro, John Isner and Kevin Anderson. I say look at Kei Nishikori, these little guys who come out and dominate tennis. The system they came through, we are no where close," he said.
