'When I get angry, it shows in my game'

I feel great. The hard court is my surface, so I think I can go really deep into the tournament, says 18-year-old tennis player Kriish Tyagi, confident ahead of the US Open, where he is set to compete in the juniors category. Preparation has been intense at Harsha Lingappa Tennis Academy near Sarjapur Road, where hes been practising all morning. I get up at five in the morning, stretch for an hour, eat some breakfast, and leave for the academy. Here, I start with my tennis for three to four hours Ive been working on improving my serves. Later, maybe one-and-a-half hours of fitness, and then recovery, says Tyagi, recounting a typical day for him. Tyagi, who has the unique distinction of having won the Under-14, Under-15, and Under-18 nationals in the span of a year-and-a-half (between 2021 and 2022), surprisingly started his sports journey with swimming. I was a good swimmer and used to train after school. But one day, my mom put on a tennis match on TV, and thats when I saw Novak Djokovic play for the first time. I really liked the sport and wanted to try it, and so the next day, I switched to tennis practice. Most of my school teachers were upset and told me that I have a good career in swimming, but all I wanted was to play tennis. Now, as Indian No.1 in the juniors category and ranked 49th in the world, he does not have any idols but aspires to compete with them on an even footing, There are no players that my goal is to play like them. I feel Im a good player and I try to compete with myself. But of course, I want to play against Djokovic and any top 10 player in a match, he says. With Tyagi turning 18 in April, this has been a transition year for him, playing some junior and senior matches. So far, the shift has been good. Ive been playing at the highest level in junior tournaments, so I havent faced many challenges. The only change Ive noticed is that in Mens tournaments, players dont like to rally as much as in juniors, its more focused on construction of points and is more physical, he says. Recently at Wimbledon, Tyagi suffered an early loss in the singles matches against the Czech Republics Jan Kumstat, but made it to the quarter finals in doubles. Losses help you improve. When I lost the match, I took it positively and knew that I needed to get ready for the next, says Tyagi, revealing that hes been working on his mental resilience. When I am at a stage where I can come back in the match, but I lose the point and get angry or upset, it shows in my game. Ive been working on that through practice and also following tips from my coach, he shares. Despite his success in junior games, Tyagi chose to sit out the French Open due to a lack of preparation time in between other tournaments. Financial constraints have also led him to being selective about tournaments he plays, facing more pressure to win in the lesser number of matches he plays compared to his peers. There are so many tournaments that we have to play [to maintain a ranking], but because of finances, weve had to sit out. The people I compete with abroad have funds from their associations and sponsors, and they get the opportunity to play tournaments almost every week. If there were more tournaments in India so we didnt have to travel abroad, and more financial help, we could grow faster.