#TFGtake: Saketh showing promise, but will struggle if he doesn't raise his physical prowess
IN THE FIFTH and final set of the opening round clash at the ongoing US Open, World No.143 Saketh Myneni had a match point against World No.49 Jiri Vesely.
Unfortunately, the Indian couldn’t break the Czech’s serve, and had to depend on his own racquet to progress ahead. That said, Myneni started cramping and very quickly lost grip on the game.
Suddenly, from 5-2 up in the final set, Myneni was staring down the barrel and eventually lost the match in a grueling three hours and 47 minutes.
Just as the Indian tennis fans were getting excited about the prospect of Myneni playing the World No.1 Novak Djokovic in round two, the 28-year-old's lack of physicality and fitness got exposed.
While we might be heartbroken on the outcome, it’s important to recognize the fact that our Indian players lack stamina and endurance to compete at the highest level. In fact, our players are just not fit enough to go the full distance (5 sets).
Although our singles specialists, Myneni and Ramkumar Ramanathan are going through the grind in the ATP Challengers circuit, we need to understand that they only play three sets regularly. It’s only during a Davis Cup tie our players get the opportunity to play full five sets. However, as we have seen in the past, if India is playing a superior team, the likes of Myneni and Ramkumar get beaten in three straight sets.
It’s no secret that our players are more than comfortable playing doubles on the ATP world tour. Furthermore, our former Davis Cup stalwarts, Amritraj brothers (Vijay and Anand) have clearly highlighted our inability to get into a slugfest against the top players in the world.
A few years back, Vijay openly said,
"Our tennis players are mentally strong. However, they are physically poor when compared to the players in Western countries.”
His elder brother Anand also spoke about how the Indians will find it physically tough against the Spaniards. It's not to be forgotten how Myneni kept struggling with cramps in the recently concluded Davis Cup tie against South Korea. Although India won the tie comfortably, Rohan Bopanna had to be called upon to play the reverse singles, in Myneni's absence.
Speaking on the issue, Anand added,
"In your 20s, you have to be able to play five sets in any conditions and not need more than 48 hours to recover. Saketh had cramped so badly on the opening day that we had to request Rohan (Bopanna) to play the first reverse singles (on Sunday) because we didn't want to disappoint people who had come to watch.”
But be that as it may, regardless of the sport, we have seen Indians peaking only after 26 and their purple patch extends well towards 30. Today, Myneni is 28 and still has a few good years left in him. Given his ability and the fact that he took the World No.49 to the brink, suggests that he can certainly play on the big stage.
Myneni is likely to go back to the Challengers circuit immediately and will take all the experience and momentum with him. Hopefully, with a few good wins under his belt, Myneni will once again get the opportunity to break into the main draw of a Major.
To avoid an unpleasant ending, Myneni will do well to work on the physical demands of the sport. For tennis, doesn’t award you only on talent and skill. It is the consistency that matters and being physically fit is the need of the hour on what is probably the toughest Tour in the sports world.
