A moment to cherish for Indian tennis
First my heartiest congratulations to Yuki Bhambri for becoming the fourth Indian to win the Boys title at a Grand Slam event. Congratulations are also in order for everyone who did his or her bit behind the scenes to make this happen – none more so than his parents who have supported the careers of three tennis playing children and all the costs that come with it, despite being stretched well beyond their means. India could do well with more like you.
Yuki’s triumph has heightened the expectations of Indian tennis fans and raised a number of questions. Let’s look at these questions and try answering them.
How good is winning a Junior Grand Slam title, as an indicator of future success on the men’s tour?
Fairly good.
Check out the complete list of Junior Grand Slam Champions. Some of the winners this decade have been Andy Roddick, Andy Murray, Gael Monfils, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Marcos Baghdatis and Richard Gasquet. Others like Stanislas Wawrinka and Marin Cillic have also had pretty good careers so far.
All the previous Indians to win a junior title – Ramanathan Krishnan, Ramesh Krishnan and Leander Paes – also had a fairly good run at the senior level.
Therefore, winning a junior Grand Slam is a fairly good indicator and there is a very good chance that Yuki will make a successful transition to the senior game.
How difficult is the transition from a successful junior to a player on the men’s tour?
Quite difficult.
Look at the list again. There are some names you wouldn’t recognize – so what happened to those guys. Well, obviously they couldn’t make the leap from successful junior to successful senior. Like in most sports, the ingredients for success change dramatically as you step up into the men’s world, with natural talent playing a lesser role and things like power, fitness and mental toughness becoming increasingly more important. Also as compared to team sports, where you can hide your flaws with the help of your teammates, in an individual sport like tennis, you are completely on your own and every chink in your armour can be mercilessly exploited by your opponent.
Look at the Indians in the list again. Their level of success on the men’s tour is directly proportional to how soon they made an appearance on it, with Ramesh falling short of his father’s standards and Leander failing to match the junior Krishnan’s efforts. The reason is simple – physical fitness and power has become more and more important as years have gone by and the skill-oriented Indians have continued to fall behind. Paes won an Olympic bronze but a lot more was expected of him on the ATP tour.
So what needs to be done to ensure Yuki doesn’t miss?
Yuki needs to be more like Somdev Dev Varman and less like Krishnan and Paes, which means he needs to add a lot of muscle and work on his fitness and conditioning.
He also needs to avoid the temptation of playing too much juniors tennis and start getting a taste of the big bad world of men’s tennis. There is not much to be gained by winning a gaggle of junior trophies and a lot to be learned by playing the men.
He also needs to focus on singles. Doubles helps you with your volleying and provides a little extra cash while you are struggling on the ATP Tour but it also whets your appetite and makes you less hungry for success in singles. Yuki’s a great talent and should maximize his singles potential.
And finally he needs all the guidance and support including financial help as he finds his way in the men’s world.
What is the current state of affairs on Yuki’s development?
Most of it is coming along really well although a lot still needs to be done especially on the money front.
Yuki already trains at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, thanks to IMG, and is in very safe hands. The coaches at the NBTA are doing everything to build up his strength and fitness, not to forget helping him become better as a tennis player. He already trains with the men and has decided to focus only on men’s events except for the junior grand slams – another sign of his high maturity – in addition to the mental acumen he displays on court.
Yuki is also part of the government scheme for preparing players for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. The govt takes care of all his grand slam expenses.
But he needs more financial support to really make the most of his potential. As previously mentioned, his parents’ resources have already been stretched thin. He needs some serious sponsorship to take care of the cost of travel, training and providing for a full fledged support staff. Hopefully, the Australian Open success should attract a few corporates.
He also has the benefit of having a fair number of Indian players on the men’s tour to offer encouragement and support – Paes, Bhupathi, Dev Varman and Prakash Amritraj.
But there is still a lot of work to be done and we are hoping Yuki leaves no stone unturned.
What does this mean for the future of Indian Tennis?
This means that for the first time since the heydays of Vijay Amritraj and Ramesh Krishnan, India could have two fine singles players, playing together at their peak. Somdev Dev Varman is already making rapid strides on the tour and Yuki could join him in a few years time. That will pave the way for a return to the elite World Group in the Davis Cup. Man, have I missed the excitement of the Davis Cup.
Finally a word of caution
We will have to be patient and not over burden the young champion with expectations. It will take a while before Yuki makes his mark on the men’s tour. A look at the list of the Junior Slam winners will show us, that, the Champions since 2006 are yet to establish themselves on the ATP Tour. Most of them are still playing the Futures and the Challengers and trying to find their feet. Yuki Bhambri will also have to go through the same growth curve before he becomes man enough for the ATP Tour.
Till then, let’s get back to cheering for Somdev Dev Varman. He is definitely ready for the expectations.
More glory for Indian Tennis!!!
