Yuki Bhambri: 'I want to be like Djokovic'

To most of us who follow tennis, Yuki Bhambri will remain the first Indian to win the junior Australian Open. To others, he is just another name in a game that, at least in India, means just five players — Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi, Rohan Bopanna, Somdev Devvarman and Sania Mirza. But what he is or isn’t, has nothing to do with what he wants to be. Today, at 19, he may be ranked 423rd in the world, still learning his art and turning up the court at around 0900 hrs every morning to hit with Max ‘The Beast’ Miryni at the IMG Tennis Academies in Bradenton, Florida but his success at the junior level, he was world number one and even won the Orange bowl (the junior equivalent of the world championships), has given him the license to dream. The Belorussian, Miryni, is known as the man who partnered Mahesh Bhupathi to many doubles titles but it was his big serve and heavy groundstrokes that earned him his scary nickname. But Bhambri isn’t scared. In fact, far from it. Every shot is returned with interest. He battles like his life depends on it, pushing himself as hard as he possibly can. For Bhambri, the last few months have been a bit of a roller-coaster ride. An ankle and knee injury have kept him off the courts and he’s watched compatriots like Bernard Tomic, a former junior world number one, break into the top-100 players of the world. As he returned to the courts last week, he was in a rush. In his eyes, precious time was being lost; time he should have used to climb up the rankings ladder. During the US Open, the revival of Donald Young, another former junior world number one, made big news. A phenom in his junior days, the American lost his way in the senior circuit. He was expected to rule the world, but the world wasn’t as small as he thought it was. Now, at long last, Young believes that he’s growing up and making the transition – the breakthrough. But there are many others who had made the journey before him – Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, Pat Cash, Ivan Lendl, Andy Murray, Gael Monfils, Tomic… it’s quite the elite roll call – all junior world number one’s. And even though he’s not quite burst onto the scene like these guys, the names offer Bhambri – a former junior world number one himself – solace and hope in equal measure. [caption id=“attachment_81897” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Yuki Bhambri aims for the top. Getty Images”] [/caption] “Even guys like Djokovic did very well at the junior level before moving on to the seniors and making the transition,” Bhambri told Firstpost from Florida. “Time and again it proves, if you were good at the junior level, you will be good at the senior level too, provided you do the right things at the right time.” “The biggest difference between the juniors and seniors is how physical the game becomes. The whole idea of muscles is not just to be able to hit the ball harder but also to allow you to explore different angles and shots,” Bhambri further added. “Of course, muscles also protect you from getting injured.” And even though, Bhambri is young, the importance of staying fit isn’t lost on him. There is an innate smartness that even his coach Nick Bollettieri acknowledges. “He’s raw, he doesn’t have the most beautiful strokes,” Bollettieri, his coach and director of the IMG Tennis Academies once said. “But he has a very good head, and he knows how to play. He’s smart.” And because he’s smart – he realises that there can’t be any weakness in his game. His big forehand won him matches at the junior level. On the senior trail, it won’t be anything special. Everyone has weapons here; but in the end the mind is a very powerful weapon too. “If there is a weakness, it will be exploited before long which is why you can’t have any. You have to believe you can play, with the best. You have to believe it’s just a matter of time before I am pushing the big names around. Without the belief, no matter, how hard you train, it will never come together,” said Bhambri. “Being an American or from Europe helps because you can play more tournaments without having to ever really travel too much,” he added. “That’s the advantage guys like Tomic and Ryan Harris have. And in the initial stages, it does help.” But the confidence built in the juniors comes to his rescue everytime he’s feeling down. “The confidence can take you to another level. Every time you step on the court, you know that you can win. And that’s big… for any player,” said Bhambri. Perhaps the best thing for Bhambri is that he doesn’t know his limits. He hasn’t, yet, been tainted by the tour; he still has it all to win. He has no baggage of the past. It’s almost beautiful – his optimism that is. Currently, Yuki is ranked 423rd in the world – a big drop from 321, his best ranking, but that’s mainly because of his injuries which have severely restricted his time on court. But as he’ll watch Djokovic and Rafael Nadal slug it out in the final of the US Open, he’ll dream again – of trophies and glory. Ask him about his game and he’s tell you it’s a bit like Nikolai Davydenko – the Russian with the silken ground strokes and amazing movement around the court. “But I guess I want to be like Djokovic,” he said. Not Federer or Rafael Nadal? “No, because among the top three, Djokovic is only one who seems human. Federer is amazing and Nadal just sends everything back. Djokovic seems doable – his game seems complete – the way I want mine to be.”