Indo/Pak express returns - Rohan Bopanna to reunite with Aisam Qureshi of Pakistan

[Cricketics]

So if anyone who followed tennis earlier, this team was a threat together and extremely competitive when they first formed p'shp. They really gelled well and reached even the US Open final, only to lose to Bryans in hard fought game. 

 

They are reuniting now.

 

Since we have many who do not like Indians to be involved in any way with Pakistan or Pakistanis, wonder what your thoughts are on this particular issue?

 

Is this a bad idea to reunite at this time?

 

https://www.olympicchannel.com/en/stories/news/detail/rohan-bopanna-aisam-ul-haq-qureshi-tennis-doubles-india-pakistan-express-back/

 

 

[sandeep]

Tennis is an individual sport - I'm ok with this collab. 

 

My stance on the whole Ind-Pak thing is to view everything on a case-by-case basis.  In this case, Rohan is not really representing country, he's a professional sportsman playing on the circuit for himself, and sees it beneficial to collaborate.  I'm Ok with it.

 

Personally, I would love to see more such collaborations, and Indians and Pakistanis working together in multiple spheres.  But as long as our greenbros are enslaved under the boots of their feudal zamindars hiding behind uniforms, one cannot realistically expect the policy changes required for that to happen.   

 

Once Pakistani military and "government" stop playing with likes of Zaki Lakhvi, Masood Azhar and the rest of the criminals, more Pakistanis can benefit from the privilege of participating and collaborating with Indians.  I'll be all for it.  

 

BUT, only and only after - a massive, and PERMANENT NON-REVERSIBLE change in Pakistani policy, especially on terrorism.   Until then, current policy is working quite well.

[Khota]

Have never watched a doubles match in tennis for a set. No interest and seldom you get good players in doubles.

[sandeep]

10 minutes ago, Khota said:

Have never watched a doubles match in tennis for a set. No interest and seldom you get good players in doubles.

Doubles is a very different game, the skillset required are different.  

[coffee_rules]

Disappointed, but it’s his prerogative, just like ICF sticky thread on PSL. I wouldn’t follow, but don’t have the right to stop others. 

[Ranvir]

1 hour ago, sandeep said:

Doubles is a very different game, the skillset required are different.  

Doubles is second rate tennis, a joke.

 

Even John McEnroe who is considered one of the greatest doubles players of all time has said so. It is played by people who have failed in their singles careers.

 

Indians think it is good because of Paes and Bhupathi.

[Khota]

6 hours ago, sandeep said:

Doubles is a very different game, the skillset required are different.  

Playing close to the net your reflexes have to be quick. Saingles you can play a baseline game and still survive.

[Khota]

5 hours ago, Ranvir said:

Doubles is second rate tennis, a joke.

 

Even John McEnroe who is considered one of the greatest doubles players of all time has said so. It is played by people who have failed in their singles careers.

 

Indians think it is good because of Paes and Bhupathi.

Lot of truth   to that. Paes was a very below average player.

[Khota]

6 hours ago, coffee_rules said:

Disappointed, but it’s his prerogative, just like ICF sticky thread on PSL. I wouldn’t follow, but don’t have the right to stop others. 

100 % agree but should have the right to stop the flow of Indian money to Pakistan.

[Gollum]

9 hours ago, sandeep said:

Doubles is a very different game, the skillset required are different.  

Slightly different (cos of net game) but mainly an avenue for failed singles players, players with below average fitness/strength/court coverage to get some moolah and recognition. Nobody starts a career dreaming of being a doubles player. Give these singles specialists a few weeks time to practice together and all doubles specialists will be out of job. Enough examples of that, whether it be Navratilova, McEnroe type legends in the past, Williams sisters more recently or the Federer-Wawrinka masterclass in 2008 Beijing. And these people played doubles side by side with gruelling singles tour, still stomped the field.

 

India's downfall in tennis is because of overhyping doubles results, lowering of the bar and dishonesty in the name of success. Krishnans (father and son, both) and Vijay Amritraj should be our ideals instead we have made heroes out of mediocrities like Paes, Bhupathi, Sania, Bopanna. Paes after winning 17 GS in doubles (incl mixed events ) came to India and made a statement that he had equaled Federer, that was the headline in every sports column in the country with glowing praises and actual Fed-Paes comparisons , mast chewtiya banaya sabka, that also represents a decline in sports journalism in India....he won't have the guts to make such a ludicrous statement on a random tennis forum. Paes, Sania had some decent results in singles, much more impressive and worthy of respect (incl among peers) than 100 GS doubles trophies but even they shy away from talking about that, such is the state!!!!!

 

From making Davis Cup finals (and beating GOAT Aus along the way) and deep runs in GS singles to watching North African countries soar past us, Indian tennis has seen a steeper decline than Indian hockey. Now they are making biopics on some of these so called legends, why would future budding talents pour efforts, take enormous risks and destroy their bodies for ultimate glory when they can get 100x the fame/fortune playing doubles, easy way out. 

Edited March 3, 2021 by Gollum

[I6MTW]

4 hours ago, Khota said:

Lot of truth   to that. Paes was a very below average player.

Paes made the most of what he had, through sheer hard work. He wasn't the most talented guy, but he made his way through. He has wins over Sampras and Federer in singles. Plus the olympic bronze. So some noteworthy singles achievements, especially in the Davis Cup. He always raised his level when he played for his country.

[I6MTW]

1 hour ago, Gollum said:

Slightly different (cos of net game) but mainly an avenue for failed singles players, players with below average fitness/strength/court coverage to get some moolah and recognition. Nobody starts a career dreaming of being a doubles player. Give these singles specialists a few weeks time to practice together and all doubles specialists will be out of job. Enough examples of that, whether it be Navratilova, McEnroe type legends in the past, Williams sisters more recently or the Federer-Wawrinka masterclass in 2008 Beijing. And these people played doubles side by side with gruelling singles tour, still stomped the field.

 

India's downfall in tennis is because of overhyping doubles results, lowering of the bar and dishonesty in the name of success. Krishnans (father and son, both) and Vijay Amritraj should be our ideals instead we have made heroes out of mediocrities like Paes, Bhupathi, Sania, Bopanna. Paes after winning 17 GS in doubles (incl mixed events ) came to India and made a statement that he had equaled Federer, that was the headline in every sports column in the country with glowing praises and actual Fed-Paes comparisons , mast chewtiya banaya sabka, that also represents a decline in sports journalism in India....he won't have the guts to make such a ludicrous statement on a random tennis forum. Paes, Sania had some decent results in singles, much more impressive and worthy of respect (incl among peers) than 100 GS doubles trophies but even they shy away from talking about that, such is the state!!!!!

 

From making Davis Cup finals (and beating GOAT Aus along the way) and deep runs in GS singles to watching North African countries soar past us, Indian tennis has seen a steeper decline than Indian hockey. Now they are making biopics on some of these so called legends, why would future budding talents pour efforts, take enormous risks and destroy their bodies for ultimate glory when they can get 100x the fame/fortune playing doubles, easy way out. 

Paes had some decent singles achievements, not bad for a guy who peaked at the top 80-100 in the rankings. He was by no means a bad singles player, he just didn't have the entire skillet of weapons to be at the top. He was good in patches. Like some wins against the top players, olympic run, Davis Cup victories etc. Mostly he'd play at a higher level only when his country was on the line. 

 

He shifted to doubles because that's where the success was at for him. He was never going to achieve much at singles. 

 

Indians just don't have the physique or genetics, or infrastructure for players to succeed at singles. Even the average height of an indian is 5'5, which automatically hinders their chances of having a great Serve. Even the current crop of doubles players these days, aren't achieving anything.

 

As for Doubles being easier than singles, it's only true for some. You have to have a decent net, volley and all court game . Which the current generation of players seldom have, they are mostly baseliners. Even Djokovic for all his singles prowess, sucks at doubles, could never perform in the deciding ties when it mattered at the Davis Cup or ATP Cup. 

[Gollum]

11 minutes ago, I6MTW said:

Mostly he'd play at a higher level only when his country was on the line. 

But a lot of his Davis Cup victories were against mediocre opponents.

 

Wish he had helped us win a couple of medals in Olympics in doubles. His ego was a huge problem over the years. 

11 minutes ago, I6MTW said:

Indians just don't have the physique or genetics, or infrastructure for players to succeed at singles. Even the average height of an indian is 5'5, which automatically hinders their chances of having a great Serve. 

But population is our ally. Pretty sure we have enough people with correct physique, genetics whatever. We have many obstacles agree, mainly infrastructure and coaching related. 

11 minutes ago, I6MTW said:

As for Doubles being easier than singles, it's only true for some. You have to have a decent net, volley and all court game . Which the current generation of players seldom have, they are mostly baseliners. Even Djokovic for all his singles prowess, sucks at doubles, could never perform in the deciding ties when it mattered at the Davis Cup or ATP Cup. 

Current gen (including Nole) doesn't care about doubles, low priority. You can't master something without putting in requisite efforts. 

[Cricketics]

Paes was exception for me interms of upping in big games. @Gollum@I6MTW Bryan Brothers showed how some specialist teams are just hard to beat even by top singles players and Paes at his prime with any decent partner would have beaten team of top ingles players. I am talking about late 90s not 2000s here.

 

Bryan brothers showed how to stay undefeated against djokovics and Isners of the world and Federer/Wawrinka combo type teams. 
 

It is true that doubles is still 2nd tier but giving respect to top doubles players who have just achieved a whole lot is not a problem. Yes,

they should  ever be compared to singles performance as that is just a joke if it happens but guys like Paes have had the quickest hand on tour and had brilliant tennis wins in grandslamsmover other great teams like Bryams. Infact even at the age of 40,

which is not too long ago, many commies were calling Leander being still the quickest player on net across both singles and doubles.

 

 

 

[I6MTW]

28 minutes ago, Gollum said:

But a lot of his Davis Cup victories were against mediocre opponents.

 

Wish he had helped us win a couple of medals in Olympics in doubles. His ego was a huge problem over the years. 

But population is our ally. Pretty sure we have enough people with correct physique, genetics whatever. We have many obstacles agree, mainly infrastructure and coaching related. 

Current gen (including Nole) doesn't care about doubles, low priority. You can't master something without putting in requisite efforts. 

He beat Ivanisevic once iirc. 

 

I'm pretty sure Nole cares about team events for his country, like Davis Cup and ATP Cup. He's played them practically every year. If you care about those events then you'd have to focus on doubles and prioritise it. He just doesn't have the game for it, he has a good serve-ROS combo, and good groundstroke. But his all court game is quite limited. He's improved over the years thanks to Becker and Ivanisevic. He can volley better and approach the net, but still doesn't have the natural touch or approach. His smash is atrocious. 

 

But, maybe like you said he doesn't require that to win in singles, so he might not be focusing on those aspects. But for Doubles they are required, and if he wants to prolong his career when he's aging, he has to incorporate those in singles as well.

[I6MTW]

33 minutes ago, Cricketics said:

Paes was exception for me interms of upping in big games. @Gollum@I6MTW Bryan Brothers showed how some specialist teams are just hard to beat even by top singles players and Paes at his prime with any decent partner would have beaten team of top ingles players. I am talking about late 90s not 2000s here.

 

Bryan brothers showed how to stay undefeated against djokovics and Isners of the world and Federer/Wawrinka combo type teams. 
 

It is true that doubles is still 2nd tier but giving respect to top doubles players who have just achieved a whole lot is not a problem. Yes,

they should  ever be compared to singles performance as that is just a joke if it happens but guys like Paes have had the quickest hand on tour and had brilliant tennis wins in grandslamsmover other great teams like Bryams. Infact even at the age of 40,

which is not too long ago, many commies were calling Leander being still the quickest player on net across both singles and doubles.

 

 

 

I always rate Paes as India's greatest sportsman and athlete. In one of the most competitive sports in the world he managed to achieve quite a name. Say what you want about the guy's ego or clashes with others which have happened, but he was always a hardworking, and friendly guy. 

[Khota]

6 hours ago, I6MTW said:

Paes made the most of what he had, through sheer hard work. He wasn't the most talented guy, but he made his way through. He has wins over Sampras and Federer in singles. Plus the olympic bronze. So some noteworthy singles achievements, especially in the Davis Cup. He always raised his level when he played for his country.

Once again let me repeat Paes was a very below average player. No one gives a frick about olympics, it is all about Grand Slams. I think he had only one title win in some tournamanent and did he ever crack in top 50? Once again he was a very below average player in tennis. 

[Khota]

6 hours ago, I6MTW said:

Paes had some decent singles achievements, not bad for a guy who peaked at the top 80-100 in the rankings. He was by no means a bad singles player, he just didn't have the entire skillet of weapons to be at the top. He was good in patches. Like some wins against the top players, olympic run, Davis Cup victories etc. Mostly he'd play at a higher level only when his country was on the line. 

 

He shifted to doubles because that's where the success was at for him. He was never going to achieve much at singles. 

 

Indians just don't have the physique or genetics, or infrastructure for players to succeed at singles. Even the average height of an indian is 5'5, which automatically hinders their chances of having a great Serve. Even the current crop of doubles players these days, aren't achieving anything.

 

As for Doubles being easier than singles, it's only true for some. You have to have a decent net, volley and all court game . Which the current generation of players seldom have, they are mostly baseliners. Even Djokovic for all his singles prowess, sucks at doubles, could never perform in the deciding ties when it mattered at the Davis Cup or ATP Cup. 

If you re not good you move to doubles. Singles is a tough game. Covering the entire court compared to net or baseline is a differnt ball game. No need to learn to serve and volley in doubles and dont worry about drops or lobs.

Paes never had the physical attributes to serve fast or cover the court. Unfortunately being short only takes you so far. Ideal tennis player is 6 ft tall. Nothing special about Paes as a tennis player.

[Real McCoy]

19 hours ago, Cricketics said:

So if anyone who followed tennis earlier, this team was a threat together and extremely competitive when they first formed p'shp. They really gelled well and reached even the US Open final, only to lose to Bryans in hard fought game. 

 

They are reuniting now.

 

Since we have many who do not like Indians to be involved in any way with Pakistan or Pakistanis, wonder what your thoughts are on this particular issue?

 

Is this a bad idea to reunite at this time?

 

https://www.olympicchannel.com/en/stories/news/detail/rohan-bopanna-aisam-ul-haq-qureshi-tennis-doubles-india-pakistan-express-back/

 

 

You'll make a good politician Are you watching this thread with some

[Gollum]

7 hours ago, I6MTW said:

I always rate Paes as India's greatest sportsman and athlete. In one of the most competitive sports in the world he managed to achieve quite a name. Say what you want about the guy's ego or clashes with others which have happened, but he was always a hardworking, and friendly guy. 

Sad that so many posts/threads here are missing, I remember making a few posts about Amritraj's career and his H2H against some of the ATGs of the sport. Very impressive actually, was something like 24-36 against the creme de la creme: Laver, Emerson, Rosewall, Stan Smith, Santana, Nastase, Borg, Connors, JMac etc. Very impressive actually. 

Edited March 3, 2021 by Gollum