LOSSES HELP ONE TO REFLECT ON THE GAME: VIJAY SUNDAR PRASHANTH

For Vijay, it's been years and years of toil, sweat and losses, a weight he relinquishes to give 100 per cent in his next tennis match.

- SURUCHI KAPUR

He just made into the top 100 of the ATP Doubles ranking. As did Sriram Balaji (71), Yuki Bhambri (62), Anirudh Chandrashekhar (87), Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (93) and Saketh Myneni (96), giving Indian Doubles Tennis an impetus after Tennis champ and stalwart Rohan Bopanna spearheaded his way to No 3 at 43.

For Vijay Sundar Prashanth, it’s been years and years of toil, sweat and losses – a weight he relinquishes to give 100 percent in his next tennis match. Currently in Europe, on the Challengers tour, he has also been playing with Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan, and the duo made it to the finals in recent challenger tournaments in Helsinki and Stockholm. He also partners with Anirudh Chandrashekar.

Struggling to make ends meet, even if the heady taste of victory is elusive, his zeal, calmness and clarity of purpose has kept him steadfast when most would have hung their boots. The win against Indian Davis Cup player Yuki Bhambri at the 2015 Aircel Chennai Open, and becoming the fourth Indian ever to qualify for the main draw is behind him. Now, with his career high ATP doubles ranking of 92, achieved on 13 November 2023, his singles career is behind him.

The 37-year-old had a career high ATP singles ranking of 335. Now, cracked into the top 100 for the first time after reaching the finals of the Tali Open in Helsinki, Finland, it’s following the benchmark Rohan Bopanna has set. That, for Prashanth, is inspiration enough.

My grandfather would take me for practice, tournaments in an auto