DOMINIC STOECKLER'S first two steps up the junior tennis ladder have been negotiated with a measure of confidence. This lanky young player from Switzerland improved his status from an unknown to a champion within a fortnight.
The surprise semifinalist on his debut in the International Tennis Federation's junior circuit at Chennai, clinching the boys' singles title a week later in Mumbai is an achievement, considering that he was not among the 16 seeded in the main draw. The 40 ITF points accruing to the boys' singles champion will come in handy, but more valuable will be the experience of adjusting to difficult conditions.
"Playing tennis in India is tough for any European due to the difference in climate and other conditions. Stoeckler is fortunate to have started his tennis career here, getting used to the heat, the sweat and tiredness, because it will be easier for him now when he plays in Europe afterwards," observed coach Jan Toeces, happy at his ward's rapid progress over the fortnight.
"I have been trying to make Stoeckler understand the importance of going to the net, using his reach to dominate. His netplay at Mumbai was the biggest improvement in his game, compared to his first week in India at Chennai," noted the coach, adding that the Swiss youngster will get better if he gets fitter. Stoeckler nodded in agreement, tired but happy after netting his first ITF junior title.
Equipped with a big serve, this Zurich native is an effective volleyer at this level, finishing off rallies in shortest possible time, like he did in the singles final against fourth seed Karan Rastogi. Coach Toeces worked on him and changed him from a baseline player to a more attacking player, getting closer to the net and converting volleys and returns into points.
"Rastogi can make things difficult if allowed to play more from the baseline, so I followed my coach's instructions and prevented him from making the ball move around too much," said the Swiss youngster, the fifth ranked junior there, whose next stop is Prague for another ITF event before trying his hand at the Asian junior circuit.
Stoeckler's success in restricting Rastogi contrasted with the difficulty second seed Rohan Gajjar had in keeping the tireless fourth seed in check. "I lost to a retrieving machine," admitted one of India's experienced juniors after losing the semifinal in three sets, missing out an opportunity to stack up ITF points after the Swiss youngster laid low top seed Amanjyot Singh in the second round.
In a match between two Mumbai players, Gajjar gave away too many points through unforced errors in the first set after having Rastogi at his mercy at the start and then tried to do too many things against the fourth seed, whose gameplan of working the angles and keeping the ball in play worked against a very aggressive opponent.
Isha Lakhani's victory in the girls' singles final, her second consecutive title, vindicated her new-found confidence. The Mumbai left-hander was at home in familiar environment of the Dr. G. A. Ranade Tennis Centre where she trains under coach Sandeep Kirtane, plus had the added motivation of building upon the Chennai success. Her rise to the title after being seeded 11th is amazing.
Isha's toughest opponent is her mind, as coach Kirtane, a former Davis Cupper, pointed out. "She has to keep her focus, then it is very difficult to beat her. Winning had become a habit now and it helped." The Mumbai girl won 6-0 in the first set of her semifinal against Indonesia's Diana Julianto, lost the next set 4-6 before taking matters into her own hand and outlasting her rival in the decider 7-5.
After playing in searing afternoon heat in the semifinal, stretching two hours, 15 minutes, Isha recovered faster than Great Britain's Rebecca Dandeniya to win the final with ease, the scoreline reading 7-5, 6-1 in her favour. The Indian is evolving into a gritty fighter, willing to slug it out on court for as long as it is necessary to subdue opponents, her strong point being a deceptive forehand, the ball whipped across the net to the area of her choice using wrists.
Dandeniya had earlier survived a torrid duel with frail Kartiki Bhat, the surprise packet of ITF Junior Mumbai leg. The Pune girl stunned top seed Megha Vakharia, 13th seed Sanaa Bhambri and eight seed Nandita Chandrasekhar to make it to the semifinal stage as the only unseeded player before bowing out to the third seeded Briton in a slugfest. Bhat already has the strokes and flair, experience and courtcraft can only enhance her game on the way up India's junior ranks.
The boys' section saw Amanjyot Singh becoming a second round casualty, going out against unseeded Stoeckler in three sets, an amazing turnaround in fortunes for the lanky Indian who breezed through the first set 6-4 and then froze, losing the next two 1-6, 1-6.
Thailand's unseeded pair of Anuwat Daldom/N.Pongkansub won the boys' doubles title, defeating the third seeded Indian combination of Vikrant Sane/Arun Prakash 7-6 (3), 6-3 in the final to improve their ITF points tally by 30 each. The girls' doubles final saw Sanaa Bhambri (India) teaming up with Pichaya Laosirichon (Thailand) successfully enough to win 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 against India's Preeti Rao/Nandita Chandrasekhar. The Mumbai leg was organised by the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association.
The results: Boys' singles final: Dominic Stoeckler (Switzerland) bt 4-Karan Rastogi (India) 6-4, 6-2; Semifinals: D. Stoeckler (Swi) bt 3-Daldom Anuwat (Indonesia) 7-5, 6-3; 4-K. Rastogi (Ind) bt 2-Rohan Gajjar (Ind) 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. Doubles final: N. Daldom/N. Pongkansub (Tha) bt Vikrant Sane/Arun Prakash (India) 7-6 (3), 6-3; Semifinals: N. Daldom/N. Pongkansub (Tha) bt Dev Varman/Jaco Mathew (Ind) 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-3; V. Sane/A. Prakash (Ind) bt Rishi Behl (Ind)/Sratha Saengsuwarn (Tha) 6-2, 6-0.
Girls' singles final: 11-Isha Lakhani (Ind) bt 3-Rebecca Dandeniya (GBR) 7-5, 6-1; Semifinals: 11. I. Lakhani bt 4-Diana Julianto (Ina) 6-0, 4-6, 7-5. R. Dandeniya bt Kariki Bhat 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. Doubles final: Sanaa Bhambri (Ind)/Pichaya Laosirichon (Tha) bt Preeti Rao/Nandita Chandrasekhar (India) 2-6, 6-2, 6-2; Semifinals: S. Bhambri/P. Laosirichon bt Rosa Maya/Diana Julianto (Ina) 6-1, 7-6 (2); P. Rao/N. Chandrasekhar bt Lata Ashudani/Isha Lakhani 6-4, 7-6 (6).
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