On August 3rd this year I was watching an ATP500 Tennis event on television. A young 18-year-old kid _ Alexander Zverev of Germany _ was playing against a more experienced opponent. Few minutes into the game, I felt this lanky 6’6” boy is a fantastic prospect for the future of Tennis. Doing little search on Google, I realized this young fella has huge following back home and he is being touted has the Boris Becker coming from Germany!
I continue to follow this young talent who will take to the Court at US Open 2015 on Day-2 when he takes on his countryman Philipp Kohlschreiber, seeded 29 in the final Grand Slam of the year. Though it’s fascinating to follow such great talents from around the world, the question that pricks me is – When will India find its own Alexander Zverev?
After Leander Paes stopped playing singles, we failed to find a great talent who would impress at Grand Slam! Though Sania Mirza achieved great success in the women category early in her career, she too successfully changed gears towards doubles to prolong her career. It is a proud moment for the country that this Hyderabad-lass has made it to the top in women doubles.
Coming back to the finding talent for the future, it is quite difficult to point at great singles talent that would make an impression on the world stage. Though Somdev Devvarman, Yuki Bhambri, Rohan Bopanna showed some promise in the initial stage, they seem to be far away from making an impression at the ‘Grand Slam’.
India hosts top notch ATP and WTA events and year 2014 witnessed Tennis Leagues come into the country. These Leagues are a perfect opportunity for young Indian players to rub shoulders with “who’s who” of the Tennis world. Let’s hope we find our own Alexander Zverev, about whom we all are excited and hopeful.
strategysage 