New face of tennis

The Hindu                                                                                        -   The School Of Power Tennis              
Tennis Saketh Myneni is upbeat on his selection into the Indian Davis Cup squad

ChampspeakJ. Vishnuvardhan, Suresh Krishna and Saketh Myneni in Hyderabad. (File photo)Photo:V V SUBRAHMANYAM

By strange coincidence, two Hyderabadis – Jagadeesan Vishnuvardhan and Saketh Myneni – might well represent the changing face of Indian men’s tennis. For these two young, talented players are named in the Indian Davis Cup squad for the next round of Asia-Oceania Group I match against New Zealand in Chandigarh from this September 14.

Saketh is delighted and feels it a huge honour to get a chance to represent the country in such a prestigious championship. “As any sportsperson will feel great about the chance to play for India, I am no exception. This is what I have been waiting for,” says Saketh. Another interesting aspect is that both Vishnuvardhan and Saketh are trained by the untiring and dedicated coach C.V. Nagaraj.

Effectively, the journey from the backyard of RRC Grounds in Secunderabad to the Davis Cup squad is also a reflection of a remarkable story of triumph of commitment, hard work and intense desire to keep improving over adversity. “I take pride that both of them come from my school – School of Power Tennis Academy,” says a visibly delighted Nagaraj.

“Ever since I was 14, Nagaraj sir moulded me into a performing player. I am fortunate to have such a gentleman as a coach,” says Saketh, who won the Senior national championship early this year, beating his friend and Academy teammate Suresh Krishna in the final.

For this gifted player, it can be a simple case of moving closer to realising one of his dreams – to play for India in the Davis Cup – when he is named in the national team for the next round of match in Chandigarh later this month.

“I don’t want to think in terms of pressure because of expectations. Rather, I will love to take it up as a challenge,” says the 6-foot, 3-inch tennis player.

Saketh, who’s done Majors in Finance & Economics from Alabama University, is aware of what it means to be business of winning in a sports arena too. “It would be unfair to even think of replacing the greats like Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi. I mean we all grew up watching them achieve glory,” he says.
What is remarkable in the case of Saketh is that he came back last year to India after a five-year stint in US where he combined academics and tennis with ease. “We have a long way to go. So in that context, I would personally love to look at Davis Cup selection as a huge opportunity rather than anything else,” insists the young champion who admires Andre Agassi a lot.

This 24-year-old tennis player, who won the Junior nationals in 2005, believes his big serve – often touching 230 kmph – is his strong point. For someone who loves the grass court, Saketh is working hard with his coach to master many finer aspects to be a much better player.

Interestingly, The national champion believes that learning is an endless process and that any one keen to be good should be ready to face the challenges that come his or her way. “I don’t look at Davis Cup selection as the end of it all. It can be the beginning of a new chapter for me in my career. The onus is on us to perform,” signs off the young champion.
V.V. SUBRAHMANYAM

Coach with double-impact - Indian Express ( The School of Power Tennis)

 

              To boast of two proteges in the Indian Davis Cup team is indeed an enviable distinction, which coach CV Nagaraj has toiled hard for years.The fruits of his struggle have finally been realized as Olympian J Vishnu Vardhan and the rising Saketh Myneni are in the new-look four-member Indian team that will meet New Zealand in Asia/ Oceania Group I tie at Chandigarh from September 14.


In fact, Susheel Narala was the first from Nagaraj’s camp who was in the Davis Cup team way back in the nineties.

“In 1997, when Narala was selected in the team to play Davis Cup, it was a huge boost to my coaching career.


But with two of my boys in the Davis Cup team among the four now, I’m happy for them.
And now, I would like to see more of my wards play for the nation at this level,” said a delighted Nagaraj.
 It was the love for the game that made Nagaraj a coach.
Starting his School of Power Tennis (TSPT) camp in the 1990’s at Railway Recreation Ground, Nagaraj strives hard to churn out champions.

“My vision to set up tennis schools was mainly to fulfill a larger mission to groom world class tennis players in India,” he said.
The 51-year-old coach is inspired by the legendary motivator like John Maxwell by saying: “Great leader’s courage to fulfill his vision comes from passion, not position”.
True to his words, Nagaraj, who moves around the city with his two-wheeler, has been modest about his achievements.

Nagaraj has had to his credit five men’s National champions that include Susheel Narla, Vishal Punna, Vishnu Vardhan, Suresh Krishna and Saketh Myneni.
Apart from the senior champions, he has also under-14 boys category national winners from TSPT like Anant Sitaram, KH Praveen and Chetan Pandit.
Vishnu Vardhan has been with Nagaraj since 17 years.
“Vishnu is hardworking and earned his due. He is an attacking baseline player,” said Nagaraj.
The 2011 Grass Court National champion Myneni has a variety in his game.
“He has the unique capability to change the pace.
The opponent mostly takes time in reading his game and by then he makes sure he takes the lead,” said Nagaraj, adding, “both Vishnu and Saketh have big serves and both have very good return of serves”.
Myneni is all praise for his coach.

“He is one of the coaches whose dedication is amazing. His passion for the game makes him one of the best coaches that I have come across. What I like about him is that with modest facilities and with meagre financial support, he has been able to run the show successfully. He is surely the unsung coach of Indian tennis,’’ he said.
Vishnu thinks that Nagaraj keeps things simple.

“But he is very particular about discipline. He has the unique ability and patience to groom young talent, at the same time not averse to modern day technology,” said Vishnu

Vishnu Vardhan wins title - The Hindu

DOING IT AGAIN:Vishnu Vardhan won the Toyota Bangalore Open title, his second straight success after last weekend's triumph at Mysore.— PHOTO: K. Gopinathan

: It proved to be a second successive Saturday of extreme delight for Vishnu Vardhan. The second seed claimed the singles title in the $10,000 Toyota Bangalore Open ITF tournament that concluded here at the KSLTA Court. In the final, Vishnu defeated top-seeded Ti-Chen of Chinese Taipei 6-2, 4-6, 6-1.
Last weekend, Vishnu had won the ITF at Mysore and like then, he raised his game for the occasion in a summit clash that stretched past sunset, thanks to a 100-minute rain-stoppage. Vishnu's serves were largely spot-on, and with 16 aces, he often notched the decisive points against an errant Ti, who ranted about line-calls and even once pointed his hands towards the skies and beseeched the gods, “I hope you are watching this!”
The opening set initially went with serve, until wet weather cried halt to the proceedings. On resumption, Vishnu broke Ti in the fourth and eighth games as the latter kept hitting wide. Vishnu proved equally adept at the net and soon, he nailed the first set and was seemingly riding the tide.
Ti though had other ideas and lived up to his top billing in the second set. He sliced his shots, imparted spin, slowed the pace and dominated the rallies with the deft drop shot, often being the sucker punch. The top-seed broke Vishnu in the third game and though a few points went through the deuce-advantage conundrum, Ti stayed firm to draw level and drag the contest into decider.
After the build-up, the third set proved to be a let-down in terms of a contest, as Vishnu breezed ahead at a stunning pace under lights, with breaks in the fourth and sixth games. And as always, when boxed into a corner, Vishnu unleashed his deep serves, while Ti lost the fight in his mind and crumbled with a string of errors.
Earlier, Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Ranjeet Virali Murugesan bagged the doubles title.
The results (finals, Indian unless specified): Singles: Vishnu Vardhan bt Ti-Chen (Tpe) 6-2, 4-6, 6-1. Doubles: Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan & Ranjeet Virali Murugesan bt Arun Prakash Rajagopalan & N. Sriram Balaji 4-6, 6-3, 10-7.

Vishnu Vardhan emerges the champion

- Photo: M.A. SriramPRIZED POSSESSION: P. Vishnu Vardhan, who won the singles title on Saturday.

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Second seed P. Vishnu Vardhan defeated seventh-seeded Sriram Balaji 7-6(7), 6-3 in the final to take the title in the Zuari Garden City-ITF $10,000 tennis tournament here on Saturday.

Vishnu, with his powerful serves and consistent returns, prevailed over his 22-year-old rival who did not capitalise on the chances, especially in the tie-breaker of the first set.

Sriram, despite serving half-a-dozen aces and attacking strongly to have Vishnu in trouble, was unable to break his rival's serve in both the sets which offset his spirited effort.

In fact, it was Sriram's serve that came under pressure on several occasions in the first set where the first, seventh and 11th games went to deuce. With both holding serve, the first set went to the tie-breaker.

Remarkable recovery

In the tie-break, Sriram was serving at 6-3, one point away from taking the set, when Vishnu recovered to draw level and finally won 9-7, with Sriram putting one wide over the baseline.

The second set too proved an absorbing affair marked by some keen rallies before Sriram wilted in the eighth game with some unforced errors.

He dropped serve by slamming a forehand return out. Vishnu, who took a 5-3 lead with that break, served out the match in style to emerge a worthy winner.

An elated Vishnu said, “I am happy to win here. Sriram is an improved player and has done well on the ITF circuit in India and is always a tough rival.

“I think he was unlucky in the first set where he had three set points in the tie-break. I had to rely on my experience to get through.

“In the second set, however, it was much easier as he seemed to be tiring out after having played a doubles final and a three-set semifinals on Friday.”

Vishnu won $1300 and 18 points while Sriram took home $900 and earned 12 points.

The prizes to the winners were given away by Binayak Dutta, CFO, Zuari Industries. P.S. Vastrad, Deputy Commissioner & District Administrator, Mysore and Chairman, Organising Committee,Karti Chidambaram, Vice President, All India Tennis Association (AITA), K.L. Sudeer, Commissioner of Police, Mysore.

Former Test cricketer Javagal Srinath and KSTA Hon. Secretary Sunder Raju were the others present.

The result (final): P. Vishnu Vardhan bt Sriram Balaji 7-6(7), 6-3.

Keywords: P. Vishnu Vardhan, Zuari Garden City-ITF $10, 000 tennis tournament

Tennis lovers throng MTC for finals

Vishnu Vardhan hopes more Indians would play in grand slams in future

The $10,000 Zuari Garden City ITF Mysore Open concluded here on Saturday with second seed Vishnu Vardhan staking claim to the men’s singles title.

Witnessing the finals were a large number of spectators including former Indian cricketer Javagal Srinath, who arrived to watch the thrilling finals between Vishnu Vardhan and N Sriram Balaji.

Even though Vardhan defeated Balaji in straight sets, a tough fight ensued between the duo in the first set, which ended in a tie-breaker.

Speaking after receiving the trophy, an elated Vardhan said, “I am happy to win here and Balaji is a much improved player and has done well in the ITF circuit in India.”

Elaborating on the match, Vardhan said, “Balaji is always a tough rival. I think he was unlucky in the first set where he had three set points in the tie break and I had to rely on my experience to get through.”

Continuing, he said, “In the second set however it was much easier as he seemed to be tiring out after having played a doubles final and three setter semi-finals yesterday”. He hoped that more Indian players would be playing at the Grand Slams in the coming years.

Saket Myneni bags ITF Men’s Future Tennis title

Mandya (Karnataka): Saket Myneni, the 24-year-old from Hyderabad, won the title in the $10,000 Prem Sugars ITF Men's Future tennis tournament here Saturday defeating top seed Vijayant Malik 6-3, 6-4 in the final.

The fourth seeded Myneni outplayed Malik in a lop-sided final that lasted just 54 minutes. Myneni blasted winners at will against an erratic Malik who struggled to find his rhythm. Though Malik came up with some strong returns, he however made quite a few unforced errors.

In the first set, Myneni playing aggressively, raced to a 3-0 lead breaking Malik in the second game. He kept up the momentum and wrapped up the set at 6-3.

The second set too followed the same pattern and Myneni slowing down the tempo forced Malik into lot of mishits. Myneni broke in the fifth game and then took a 4-2 lead before closing the set.

Myneni with this win earned $1,300 in prize money and 18 points while Malik took home $900 and earned 12 points. (IANS)

It has been a real struggle

The Hindu  26-04-12                                                        The School Of Power Tennis

 

 

All for one:National tennis champions J. Vishnuvardhan, Suresh Krishna, Saketh Myneni, coach C. V. Nagaraj and P. C. Vignesh at a training session.— PHOTO: V. V. SUBRAHMANYAM

 Three Davis Cuppers and five national champions. Well, that is the remarkable achievement of the School of Power Tennis run by the untiring coach Canjeevaran Venkatrao Nagraj at RRC Grounds in Secunderabad.

And, clearly, 24-year-old Jagadeesan Vishnuvardhan stands tall amongst them by virtue of his consistency.

For the record, Vishnuvardhan (2008), A. S. Suresh Krishna (2010)and Saketh Myneni (2011) were the Senior National Champions while, P. C.Vignesh was the Runner-up in the 2009 edition.

The three Davis Cuppers from this stable were Susheel Narla, Punna Vishal and Vishnuvardhan.

Now, Vishnuvardhan believes that he steps into a difficult and testing crucial phase of transition from the ‘fringe player' status to gaining some sort of permanency in the Indian Davis Cup squad.

“For me, it has been a real struggle in life and in sport for the last five years and only since last two years, things have certainly improved for the good,” says the tall Vishnuvardhan, who was one of the reserves of the Indian Davis Cup squad for the recent encounter against Uzbekistan.

“When I started playing tennis, except Wimbledon, I never knew about any other Grand Slams. As I started competing and winning the age group events, I dreamt of playing for India in Davis Cup,” recalls the soft-spoken Vishnu, who lost the match in the reverse singles tie against Japan in Davis Cup last year but won the hearts of many critics with his striking performance on the tennis courts.

By all means Vishnu was one of those players who struggled to find the right platform after winning the National under-18 title. “That was the phase, when those keen to play in men's circuit had very limited opportunities as the focus was more on international events which were beyond our reach invariably,” he recalls.

What are the grey areas of concern now? “Well, when a Rafael Nadal says that he has to keep improving his fitness levels, it reminds of lesser mortals like us about the significance of staying fit over a longer period of time,” says Vishnu with a big smile.

“I am working a lot with Nagraj Sir (coach) on my defence, as I am essentially a very attacking player. Now, I am trying to master the art of controlling the pace of the game by sharpening my defence,” he pointed out.

Vishnu says the feeling of being close to the ambience of a Davis Cup match is in itself a huge experience. “Being in the company of Leander and Mahesh has helped tremendously as you tend to pick up new tricks every time you run into them. They are such great players and very affable,” he explains.

Vishnu rates his winning the National under-16 title in Hyderabad as the decisive moment in his career. He played the event at the insistence of his coach C V Nagraj, as he was not very keen to play the tournament.

“After winning that National title, I realised that I had the potential to dream big in tennis and truly justified that my coach can spot the potential talent and goal which we players tend to miss clearly,” says the articulate tennis star from Hyderabad.

“Playing in the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games mixed doubles with Sania Mirza and winning the silver medal, and winning the bronze medal for men's team event were clearly the high-points of my career,” he looks back with justifiable pride.

“I was nervous definitely then. But, thanks to Sania and the men's team for their support, it turned out to be a very memorable Asian Games for me,” says Vishnu.

“That Asian Games also provided a huge opportunity of meeting one of my favourites - ace cueist and former World Champion Geet Sethi. I have read a lot of his books and what impressed me the most is his simplicity and the way he made someone like me feel so comfortable in the first meeting itself,” says an excited Vishnuvardhan.

“I hate the wrong calls especially in crunch situations as they take the match away from you. And, you just can't do anything about those calls,” he says with a tinge of seriousness to a query.

An executive in the Human Resources Wing of ONGC and a huge fan of the great Pete Sampras, Vishnuvardhan is clearly in the mood to look ahead. “There is no end to learning. I am aware that this is the most decisive phase of my tennis career and I am willing to go that extra yard in terms oftraining and make a mark by being more consistent,” he says.

“Well, you cannot even think of replacing someone like Mahesh (Bhupathi) and Leander (Paes),” clearly reminding that he has a long way to go.