In an Indian tennis era of pre-eminent doubles champions, Somdev Devvarman was always going to be singular.
The last Indian to feature in the ATP's top 100 singles rankings for a sustained period retired at the start of 2017, and now hopes to find his own distinctive place in Indian tennis. In several roles -- the most public one as the sports ministry's 'eyes and ears' with regard to the country's fractured tennis administration as one of the observers in 12 "priority/ high-priority" disciplines. He attended the first of those meetings in Delhi this month and was the youngest man in a room full of "legends". It makes athletes like him the "medium" between the ministry and the federations, in "making structures better for our players in the short and long term".
The other roles and duties are less headline-generating. As a sporting entrepreneur-philanthropist working with underprivileged schoolchildren in Chennai through sport and as mentor and adviser to the upcoming generation of Indian tennis players. At one go, he appears to be making the most of his degree in sociology and his experience in tennis. Post-retirement, he has returned to redig roots in Chennai -- where he grew up before setting out for the University of Virginia and, after graduation, nine years on the ATP tour.
Until his retirement earlier this year, he spent all but 12 weeks between August 2010 and January 2012 ranked in the top 100 with a highest rank of 62. Devvarman won singles gold medals at the 2010 Commonwealth and Asian Games (beating Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin in the final) plus an Asian Games men's doubles gold with Sanam Singh. In 2009, he reached the Chennai Open final, beating three seeds -- Carlos Moya, Ivo Karlovic and Rainer Schuettler -- on the way, before losing to Marin Cilic. For eight months, between September 2013 and April 2014, Devvarman returned to the top 100 before being hampered by injuries and what he describes as a time "when I stopped being as good in singles and when I slowed down a little".
He had thrown himself into a pro career with a purpose -- to push his singles career as high and far as he could -- and has returned with another one: to see if he can play a part in charting out an alternative course for young Indian tennis players. As an observer suggesting and demanding change and a mentor on hand for guidance.
Devvarman's understanding of the situation on the ground is without frills or smokescreens. Has Indian tennis gone backwards? "It's a harsh thing to say but the truth is sometimes harsh," he says. "It's spot on. Here's my problem with the whole thing: I don't believe there is a programme [in India] that is truly aimed at growing the game at the grassroots level or handling it at the senior level. There is no dedicated team that looks at finding talent, harnessing talent and grooming it and having it grow.... It's not that we don't have the resources."
India's string of players has emerged and continues to emerge, he says, through the energies of their coaches and families, with no institutional support or clear-cut pathway. "There is no system and there is no structure and that is pretty sad but it is true." Enough material on hand to pass observations on to the sports ministry, but Devvarman is hopeful. "I would like to see change, and it is something I am willing to work on and hope my inputs and expertise can be used at this stage... It's a challenge and hopefully things will turn around for the better."
In many ways, Devvarman's career in itself becomes an example for the more independent Indian tennis player. He was an atypical kind of Indian athlete. Minus the artistry or magic that our tennis players were always known for, Devvarman's was a physical game, of grinding groundstrokes, endurance, lungs, legs and persistence.
What was also most obvious was how during his nine years as a pro, Devvarman stayed well clear of the high-emotion, low-yield soap operas that dominated Indian tennis over the last decade. The decision to keep a geographical distance between himself and unessential entanglements of Indian tennis was a conscious one. "I realized that there were a lot of distractions and, most importantly, for training it's just not the right environment to be around... It was very clear I had a job to do: my job was to work hard, I was playing singles."
He knew being based in India would have been better financially, "more ads and billboards and TV but in terms of being a true professional it wasn't something that was very appealing -- that lifestsyle." He was, he says, "aware there is nonsense and there are attention-seekers and there is drama and from the get-go, that wasn't my scene. I never thought that being a true professional was any of those things."
"I don't believe there is a programme [in India] that is truly aimed at growing the game at the grassroots level or handling it at the senior level. There is no dedicated team that looks at finding talent, harnessing talent and grooming it and having it grow." Somdev Devvarman
When the time came, when his "passion" for the sport started to dim, he was clear he wanted to quit. Rather than move onto the doubles caravan, even when invited to do so by friends. "Some of my closest friends are doubles guys," he says and names the Indians -- "Lee", "Hesh", "Sania", "Bops" -- and then college mates Dominic Inglot (ranked No. 44 in doubles) and Treat Huey (ranked No. 34 in doubles). "A lot of the guys were saying, when you're slowing down, a good way to stay on the tour is to play doubles," he says. "It's never been a dream of mine to just stay on the tour. Singles was always my passion. I didn't want to continue clinging onto the tour and hanging around -- it wasn't that appealing to me."
He had another life in mind -- what he is immersed in now; in December, it was two weeks spent training and practising with Sumit Nagal, the teenager recovering from a shoulder injury, and Prajnesh Gunneswaran, who would go onto to make his Davis Cup debut versus Uzbekistan. His other project is a seven-year-old, non-profit charitable trust, Life Is A Ball (LIAB), which works with children from underprivileged backgrounds in seven government schools.
Devvarman was able to control just where and how he steered his pro career. "I enjoyed playing tennis, enjoyed hanging around my friends, doing my own thing -- the rest wasn't interesting." In case anyone of the next generation of Indian tennis player needs a clue as to how to play their tennis, Somdev Devvarman's path is a healthy option. Think clear and remain true, do your own thing.