Pune: India’s Purav Raja and Divij Sharan have emerged as a force on the ATP Challenger circuit this season by winning four doubles titles and getting inside the top 70 in rankings, but lack of recognition for their achievements in their own country has left them a bit disappointed.
Raja and left-hander Sharan won doubles title at the Pune Challenger two days back and before that they had triumphed in Segovia, Surbiton and Manchester. Not only this, they clinched an ATP 250 title in Mexico (Los Cabos) and made semifinals in Atlanta, Gstaad and Newport events on the World Tour, gaining more than 1,200 points each in the current calendar.
Singles players always get more prominence but the two Indians feel that there should not be any discrimination. “We are not hungry to be in limelight. We are simple, but there’s evidence that nobody knows we are ranked 60 in the world. Outside (India), if you are 60-70, people know and support you. They will give you whatever you want. But in India, not many people know who we are and so you can’t blame them. We have played 6-7 finals this season,” Raja, ranked 66, told this agency.
“Tennis players should be respected for what they do. I don’t think one should be given bigger (respect/help) than the other and preferences, donations, sponsorships should also be equal. To make a living out of tennis, you have to be a very good player, whether it’s singles or doubles,” added Raja.
Sharan, who hails from Delhi, added: “Sometimes it (lack of acknowledgment) hurts. May be it will not be treated at par but (respect) would make us feel better.”
Playing semifinals of Tour events is as good as winning Challenger in terms of points and they have done that. “If someone had told us that we will finish the year at around 60, when we were sitting outside 150 at the beginning of the year, we would have taken it gladly, we have made thousand or 1,200 points in this period. If you look back logically, it has been a very successful year,” Raja said summing up the season.
Raja who plays on the ‘Ad-deuce’ court also pointed out that being ‘very aggressive’ have helped them this season. “We are constantly attacking, constantly changing formations and this has helped us a long way in improving our rankings,” informed Raja who trains here whenever he is in India.
Press Trust of India
