After enduring what he describes as one of his worst years on the circuit, Rohan Bopanna is hopeful of bouncing back next season in the company of a new partner in Uruguays Pablo Cuevas. Bopanna finished 2016 without a single tournament win and his individual doubles ranking has plummeted to 28. Having split with Romanian Florin Mergea, his partner for a large part of the last two years, Bopanna is now counting on improved results with Cuevas, who has a singles ranking of 22 and has won a mens doubles Grand Slam previously - the 2008 French Open with Luis Horna.I could have surely done much better, Bopanna told ESPN in Bangalore, where he is on a short break. I am disappointed in the fact that I couldnt win a tournament this year though I made some finals. Changing partners constantly after Wimbledon doesnt really help. It was challenging, but something for me to learn from and keep moving forward.Florin (Mergea) sent me an email right after US Open that he would like to find a different partner, which I completely agree with. As an individual player if someone wants to make that change and look for something different, they have every right to do so. Hence I had to find a new partner and hence Pablo (Cuevas) came into the picture. He has a similar game to Florin, who served and stayed back. I am used to this kind of partnership, so I thought I would stick to a similar type of partnership and see if it helps me.Bopanna has also decided to make changes to his methods and approach in his quest to overcome the downward spiral in his recent performances. After playing on the ad-court (left side of the court) in recent years, he will switch over to operating from the deuce court (right side) next year. He has had success in previous partnerships with Mahesh Bhupathi and Daniel Nestor by operating from the deuce court and is gambling on a similar outcome by returning to the formula.The 36-year-old has also made changes to his training regime by experimenting at the fitness fight club over the last few days. Bopanna says one of his main goals for the remainder of his career is to win a mens doubles Grand Slam title, though he concedes it will be an uphill task on an increasingly competitive circuit.If you look at the Grand Slams for the past 3-4 years there hasnt been a team that has won consistently, he says. That clearly shows the field is getting stronger, many more singles players are playing doubles. So you have to work with that, hence me getting a singles player as partner might just help me.But despite all the tennis he has played this year, Bopanna does miss not being a part of the ATP World Tour Finals, where he has reached the mens doubles final twice, in 2012 and 2015.My main focus is to play the Masters series and doing well in the Grand Slams. The ATP tour Finals is going on this week and I will be wrong to say I am not missing it. Last year was a great experience as was 2012. So when I am watching on TV, I feel a little let down by myself, not being a part of it. So that is my goal for next year, to get back into the top eight teams.Rio pain One of Bopannas biggest disappointments this year was missing out on a medal at the Rio Olympics. Having lost in the first round of the mens doubles with Leander Paes, Bopanna and Sania Mirza reached the semifinals of the mixed doubles before going down to Rajeev Ram and Venus Williams after taking the first set. A day later, they were beaten in the bronze medal play-off by the Czech pair of Lucie Hradecka and Radek Stepanek. Bopanna admits