Manas Dhamne (Special Arrangement) NEW DELHI: Manas Dhamne had things on a linear trajectory for him. Winning the M15 tournament in Zahra, Kuwait in February. Wild cards to the qualifying rounds of the Miami Open and Madrid Open. And the jumps in the ATP Challenger when trying to break through bigger obstacles. As he navigates this journey around the world, he has IMG Tennis as his representation; coaches from the famous Piatti Tennis Center to hone his game and physical fitness; but mainly a firm and mature head on his shoulders.“I think I’m lucky to have a great team around me. Great coaches, great manager and also my family. They never say anything about tennis,” Dhamne said in a virtual media interaction.
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Manas Dhamne (Special Arrangement)
On the court, he, and the rest of the pack, had a tough time battling the various conditions. Rain and wind in the semi-finals gave way to ideal weather for the final. Although the result was different than what he had hoped for. Still, Dhamne took confidence from his first ever run at an ATP Challenger tournament. Before that, his best performances were in the quarter-finals in Pune and Bengaluru earlier this year.“This week gives me a lot of confidence. A really positive week. And I’ll try to take that lesson and hopefully carry it into the next tournaments I play,” said Dhamne, with the next task at hand the ITF M25 in Santa Margherita di Pula (Italy), followed by the ATP Challenger in Oeiras (Portugal).
Manas Dhamne (Special Arrangement)
What are the next obvious steps in Dhamne’s journey?“I would say the main thing is fitness because it’s also kind of natural that as you get older, especially in those teenage years, it’s going to come naturally, but you also work a lot,” Dhamne concluded.“And as for tennis, I feel like it’s the same kind of the same tennis, but I’m just doing the same things better, the execution is better. I’m more aggressive, I’m trying to be bolder, I’m trying to hit more shots. But I still feel that tennis has to be the same. I don’t have to change things. I just have to try to do it better and better, the same, how to use it in matches and how to use it. match.“And I feel like I just have to keep building the courage to go harder and harder and be more aggressive, keep doing the same things better and better.”
