New Delhi, May 25 (IANS): Indian veteran Somdev Devvarman revealed the secret behind Rohan Bopanna's longevity and said we are “seeing a fearless version of him."

Rohan Bopanna has been the pillar of Indian tennis for a better part of two decades. In an exclusive conversation with IANS, Somdev Devvarman talks about the secret behind the 44 year old’s longevity.

An Arjuna awardee, Bopanna made his Davis cup debut in 2002 and has been the leading force in the country ever since. He also became the oldest player to ever win a grand slam title when he along with Matthew Ebden won the men’s doubles category in the Australian Open in January 2024.

“You know, with Rohan, it's always been determination, it's always been drive, it's always been passion, finding new ways to improve. I think he's done about as well as anybody could have imagined. You know, even before the last five months, he'd had a stellar career, world number three, major finals, mixed doubles major at the French and he did it for a very long period,” Devvarman told IANS.

Bopanna will be lacing his boots for the upcoming Roland Garros tournament, the mecca of clay courts. Despite Bopanna’s struggle on the surface in the past, he will be looking to have a strong outing as he will be coming back to this exact court for the 2024 Paris Olympics to represent team India.

“The last five months, you're just seeing a fearless version of him. He was always pretty fearless, but now it's like he knows exactly when he needs to press, how he needs to hold serve at key moments, and what kind of pressure to add. So it's just all the experience coming together and his body still holding up. He's very motivated by success and it's just great to see that he's getting it at this stage of his career,” concluded the Indian tennis veteran.