Rohan Bopanna Retires: Not an ideal finish for Indian Tennis Great in his last dance at Paris Olympics

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It's hard to wake up after a devastating loss in the first round at the Olympics and still move on. Well, that's the case with Rohan Bopanna, who said he would be packing up his bags and flying out to the United States of America. Next up will be two tournaments before the US Open, the season's last Grand Slam.

On Sunday night, Bopanna and Sriram Balaji played a hard match and lost to Frenchmen Gael Monfils and Edouard-Roger Vesselin. The crowd cheering was crazy, almost to the point of being distracting. Such energy is seen in a Davis Cup tie, not at the Olympics. No, this was Roland Garros, the most holy clay court in the world.

See the names of the show courts inside Roland Garros -- Jean Borotra, Suzen Lenglenne, Philippe Chatrier -- and more. The Indian duo were playing on outside courts where the decibel level was higher. It was almost deafening, Frenchmen cheering and shouting.

Way back in Frejus, southern France, in 1993 July, India had defeated France in a historic Davis Cup tie. That shocked the world when Leander Paes and Ramesh Krishnan bombed the French.

Rohan Bopanna would have known all that, but he could do little. Monfils came in as a replacement at the last minute and his serve was heavy. "His shot-making and serve was strong," said Bopanna.

The tall Coorgi, now 44, spoke more on how the Olympic journey and a tough draw are something he can do nothing about. Rohan Bopanna had to fight to play with Mahesh Bhupathi in 2012 London. In Rio 2016, he was done in by bad luck as his partner never landed in time for them to get practice sessions. In mixed doubles as well, Bopanna had lost the bronze medal playoff with Sania Mirza.

So, was Paris a last chance or a lost chance? Bopanna is not a negative person. He prepared hard for this last dance on clay at the Paris Olympics. Bopanna had done all that he could as well as ensured the choice of doubles partners from India would be plenty. There were no trials but he had assessed the best partner on clay, which was Sriram Balaji.

Age is not on Rohan's side for another Olympics attempt. "You cannot wake up after a loss and look four years ahead," he said. The way he plans is to take it step by step. He definitely wants to do well in the US Open with Matt Ebden.

Doubles specialists start planning for the next season in advance. Right now, the Indian does not know which way he should look. He will be around in 2025, and if Matt Ebden is his partner again, it would be great. If not, he will still look at other options.

Having played tennis for over 35 years, his body is held together because of his work ethic, discipline and his belief in yoga. He has no cartilage in his knees and overcomes pain by doing plenty of rehab and strengthening. Life minus physios and trainers would kill him.

In many ways, Rohan Bopanna defies logic as his longevity in tennis is a romantic story. He started as a singles player and then shifted to doubles. He has been through several changes and at the same time changed many partners. How hard and how long he can push his career depends on his energy. On Sunday, even former India coach Rahul Dravid had come to see Bopanna play. From the same state, after all.

Looking back, Bopanna has lived in the shadows of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi for a big part of his career. Yet, he made up for all that by creating his own brand of tennis and staying relevant. The kind of service he has rendered to Indian tennis is unimaginable.

"It's fun to be playing now and I still enjoy it. When I watch Sumit Nagal, his growth has been phenomenal," said Bopanna. The best part, Bopanna lends a helping hand to anyone who reaches out to him. Paris 2024 is over, and so is Bopanna's Olympic journey in India colours.