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However, the result was not desirable. He lost 3–6, 2–6 to fourth seed Ilia Simakin in singles and 3–6, 6–2, 8–10 in doubles alongside Atharva Sharma. But 18-year-old Dhamne is not willing to get bogged down in defeat and focus on a slow but steady climb.“I think my team’s experience really helps me in this. (Joao) Fonseca is a great player but he is also older than me and still way ahead of me,” he told TimesofIndia.com when asked if he sees the 19-year-old Fonseca getting a lot of attention. “I’m working on my own process. Progress is more important than results. If the process is good, the results will come. If the results come, the rankings will come. It’s as simple as that,” he added.
Manas Dhamne trains at the Piatti Tennis Center in Bordighera, Italy. (Photo by special agreement)
Dhamne’s training base is in Bordighera, Italy at the Piatti Tennis Center, where Jannik Sinner, Borna Coric and Ana Bogdan grew up. The leading figure, Ricardo, has coached some of the world’s best players: former world number three Ivan Ljubčić, 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic, ex-ninth world number one Richard Gasquet, former Wimbledon finalist Miloš Raonic and Sinner until 2022. Just in 2018, he introduced several future tennis stars.Dhamne aspires to join this illustrious list but prefers to stay grounded and his team plays a key role.“My team around me is very professional. Riccardo and his team have brought up the best players in the world and I learn from them. Not only in terms of coaching, but also physical preparation, mental training, nutrition, etc.,” he explained. “Like my management team (IMG), they have so much experience in helping players get to the top, I’m learning from it every week. So if you ask me about the learning curve, it’s a lot about new experiences…my first time playing a 15K, my first time playing a Challenger, my first time playing an ATP event…they’ve all been tough challenges, but this is what I’m working on all these days.” “One thing is clear, the Pro Tour is tough. The players are very good, mentally they never give up and physically very fit. I work every day to be there with them,” he continued.
At 18, Manas Dhamne is the second youngest player in the ATP top 500. (Photo by special agreement)
For many tennis players, the challenge lies in deciding when to turn pro. It’s a tricky position that requires the delicate balance of transitioning from the college/junior level to the upper echelons. For Dhamne, that decision came in 2023 and he made his ATP Tour debut at the Tata Open Maharashtra as a wild card. Although he lost, he became the first player born in 2007 to enter the main draw on the men’s tennis tour.Now, at 18, Dhamne, at world No. 486, is the second-youngest player in the ATP top 500, behind Germany’s Diego Dedura. The learning curve continues for Manas and seeing the best around keeps him motivated.“I’ve been very lucky to be based at the Piatti Academy. Being there, I’ve already met players like Sinner, (Daniil) Medvedev, Felix Auger-Aliassime, (Grigor) Dimitrov, etc. So I’ve already experienced for a while the incredible level these guys produce. They just don’t miss it.”