'Patience' key for Saketh Myneni and doubles partner Yuki Bhambri as they chase consistent results

The Indian doubles pair have together won seven Challenger titles since 2022.

India's number three ranked men's doubles player Saketh Myneni has had a great time in the past one and a half years slowly climbing up the ladder alongside Yuki Bhambri in the ATP Rankings. Like many athletes, the Arjuna Awardee from Hyderabad had a tough time during the pandemic and has also been a victim of several injuries which has halted his run in the past.

Saketh Myneni was out of action for majority of 2020 season. However, he made a comeback by playing in the ITF Futures (in 2021) regaining game time in the doubles category. His partnership with Yuki Bhambri in early 2022 paid off and the pair went on to win five Challenger titles — Saketh overall won six Challengers — that year. They have added two more titles to their name so far in 2023.

Khel Now got an opportunity to interact with Saketh Myneni on his comeback to the ATP circuit and his success partnership with Yuki Bhambri.

Performance in first half of 2023

Fondly called Yuki-Saki, the pair have participated in both Grand Slams this year. In the recently concluded French Open, the Indian pair progressed to the second round and simultaneously have started taking part in ATP Tour events.

Saketh Myneni iterated, "The first half of the season has been challenging. Last year we had different set of challenges of getting back to the tour as we didn't know what to expect with minimal ranking points. Also we changed to doubles completely for the first-time last season and with Asian leg completely wiped off that was again a different set of challenge."

Saketh was ranked as high as 137 in the singles category in 2016. He has had good time playing in the singles and has won crucial matches playing for India in the Davis Cup.

"We now have travelled a good distance and have started competing in ATP tour events consistently. This year it was all about consistency; to get good results and improve the rankings. The progress has been good and we expect to remain patient and confident with results coming through."

Start of fresh partnership with Yuki Bhambri

The two-time Asian Games medallist had a great 2022 season winning the Bengaluru Challenger title with Ramkumar Ramanathan in men's doubles. The major shift happened next with Yuki Bhambri.

"Last year I started my partnership with Ramkumar Ramanathan in India but a year before me and Yuki played a couple of Futures (in singles). We thought of playing to together in doubles if the scheduling worked out well. With the pandemic around and Yuki not sure as to when he will be back from an injury made things tough. Also registering in a tournament was difficult as we didn't have good ranking points," he added.

"Me and Ramkumar decided to enter the Bengaluru Challenger 2022 (in November 2021) and Yuki, on the other hand, also took part in the competition.

Injuries have played a major role in Saketh's career. He was continuously battling with injuries for past five to six years before the pandemic. The decision to switch to doubles worked completely in his favour along with Yuki Bhambri.

"Post the Bengaluru Challenger, I completely shifted to doubles and sorted out a way in terms of scheduling and it was how our journey started. Initially we played the Futures and then simultaneously played the Challenger tour."

Wimbledon Preparations

After concluding their clay season, the Indian pair shifted their focus to grass and have played three tournaments together. Last week, they qualified to the main draw of Queens Club Championships (ATP 500) after winning two qualifying rounds but went down to second seed in R16.

"After playing in few grass court tournaments since the French Open, Saketh Myneni has taken a week off with Yuki playing the Mallorca Open (ATP 250) in Spain currently. Yuki-Saki lost in the opening round against 2nd seed at the Queens Club Championships (ATP 500) after playing the qualifiers and in the previous week reached the quarter-finals of Nottingham Challenger.

"After the end of the clay season, we wanted to play as many grass tournaments as possible as getting into the events were tough. Last year we could not take part in the grass season as we did know where to play and continued to play in the clay courts. It's never easy on shifting from clay to grass keeping the weather conditions of UK in mind. This is the first time we are playing doubles on grass courts, so it was challenging at the start but we are slowly settling in."

Getting into Asian Games squad

Saketh Myneni last took part in the Asian Games in 2014 and wasn't part of the squad in the next edition in Indonesia. He has won two medals at the continental games in doubles category — men's doubles silver with Sanam Singh and mixed doubles gold with Indian legend Sani Mirza who retired from tennis earlier this year.

"I will be back playing in the Asian Games after ten years. In 2014, I didn't know what to expect but this time with experience I know what to do. Unfortunately, we do not have Sania Mirza but with Rohan Bopanna playing it adds more value and experience. We do not see our teammates regularly, so it is good to get back as a team and support each other."

After a year's hiatus due to the pandemic, the Hangzhou Asian Games will be played in September with several top playing tennis nations including hosts, South Korea and Japan taking part.

"The conditions in China isn't going to easy either. It boils down to how we prepare before the tournament. But there is still a lot of time and looking forward to the challenge," he added.

Rohan Bopanna

"Bopanna has been phenomenal and has been an active part of the ATP tour for more than 15 years. To remain consistent for close to two decades speaks a lot about him. Also, he has helped us a lot in many ways — Rohan along with KPIT organized a camp for the Indian doubles contingent earlier this year in Dubai which has helped many. Whenever we require any help from him, we just shoot up a message and he is ready in guiding us."

Is having an ATP 250 beneficial or having more Challengers and ITF tour in India beneficial?

South East Asia's only ATP Tour event has moved out of India and has been shifted to Hong Kong. The tournament was run in India across three venues (Delhi, Chennai, and Pune) for more than two decades.

"It's a tough question because I cannot answer it straight away choosing either of yes or no. It is important to have big tournaments as it helps getting good exposure and, on the other hand, we even need to have grassroot tournaments. Players need move up from playing the Nationals to ITFs to Challengers for which you need to have more tournaments in India. Having tournaments in India reduces the expenses which helps players financially."

Apart from ATP tour, India has hosted three Challenger tour titles (Chennai, Bengaluru, and Pune) and few ITF tour events till now. Indian players have to travel abroad to gain ranking points with several not having sponsorships and adequate funding.

"On the other hand, it is tough and unfortunate for us on losing out the tournament as it was the only ATP tour event in South East Asia and was beneficial to many before they head to the Australian Open."

Role of US Collegiate

Several Indian players in the past — Somdev Devvarman, Mahesh Bhupathi, Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan, Sanam Singh etc have plied their trade in the USA. Saketh Myneni also took a major step of playing in the US rather turning pro after finishing his 12th grade.

"It was a big step for me to go to USA and play there. Right after finishing 12th grade, I had the option of taking college tennis route or turning pro (which requires proper funding and infrastructure). I did not have a strong base nor have travelled to play many tournaments in the junior circuit and the ITF tours.

"In the end, I took up the former, but there too I had to start from the scratch. The move worked out well as I developed both as a player and most importantly as an individual."