NEW DELHI: Manas Dhamne has been progressing steadily in his tennis career. In February, he won an M15 tournament in Zahra, Kuwait. He received wildcards into the qualifying rounds of the Miami Open and Madrid Open. He has also been performing well in ATP Challengers while striving to overcome bigger challenges. As he travels the world, he is represented by IMG Tennis and receives coaching from the renowned Piatti Tennis Centre to enhance his skills and physical fitness. Most importantly, he maintains a calm and mature mindset.
"I think I'm just lucky to have a great team around me. Great coaches, great manager, and my family. They never comment on tennis," Dhamne said during a virtual media interaction. "They let the coaches do their work and support me emotionally from the outside. I'm very lucky to have such a great team and family who raised me this way."
These were remarkably composed words from someone who had just lost his first ATP Challenger final a few hours earlier in Shymkent, Kazakhstan. The 18-year-old finished as runner-up to Belgium's Buvaysar Gadamauri, losing 6-7, 4-6.
This recent performance has propelled him to World No. 384, climbing 60 spots in the rankings, making him the second-highest ranked Indian men's singles player after Sumit Nagal (World No. 276).
On the court, Dhamne and his competitors faced challenging weather conditions. The semi-finals were marked by rain and wind, while the final enjoyed perfect weather. However, the outcome was not what he had hoped for. Despite this, Dhamne drew confidence from his first-ever run to an ATP Challenger final. His previous best was reaching the quarterfinals in Pune and Bengaluru earlier this year.
"This week gives me a lot of confidence. It was a really positive week. I will take the learnings and hope to execute them in the next tournaments," Dhamne said. His upcoming assignments include an ITF M25 in Santa Margherita di Pula, Italy, followed by an ATP Challenger in Oeiras, Portugal.
What are the next steps for Dhamne? "The main thing is fitness. As you grow older, especially in teenage years, it comes naturally to some extent, but you also have to work hard," he explained. "Tennis-wise, I feel I'm doing the same things better. The execution is improved. I'm more aggressive, trying to be more courageous, taking more shots. But I still believe the tennis has to remain the same. I don't need to change things; I just need to do the same things better and know when and how to use them in a match. I have to keep building my courage to go for it more and be more aggressive, to keep improving the same things."
