What is Indian tennis trying to do? Spoiling its tired faithful?
In just over a month, we've had slices of joyous news: first, Ramkumar Ramanathan beats world no. 8 Dominic Thiem in Antalya, Turkey. Then earlier on Thursday morning Indian time, late night in Washington DC, Yuki Bhambri wins a three-setter against Gael Monfils, ranked No. 22 to reach the third round of the Citibank Open in Washington.
How are these things happening? Do they matter? Do we dare care?
Bhambri is 25, 6ft, India's No.2, ranked 200 this week, an Australian Open junior champion, former junior world no. 1 and looks a bit of a dreamer. Two years ago he made it into the top 100, ranked at one point No. 88 but has been plagued by injury. He has gorgeous, angled, searching, scheming groundstrokes, on full view when beating Monfils. As a junior, his game led Nick Bollettieri, professor emeritus of tennis coaching, to say it could have been moulded into top 10 material.
Ramkumar, in case you haven't seen him, is a reedy big-server, 6ft2in, flaky and prone to fits of double-faulting, but possessing modern weapons and a future ahead. He is India's No. 1 player, aged, 22 with a persona that flits between being revved-up to explosion-levels and impossibly downbeat. But boy, can he serve rockets.
Never mind where Bhambri or Ramkumar could have been. Those ships have sailed.
In the interim, Indian tennis had allowed itself to be submerged in, is doubles mania. All hat tips and credit to everyone involved in that side of the business, but somehow watching this does produce a very different thrill.
Astonishing! @YukiBhambri forehand on the run *just* catches the baseline.#CO17 pic.twitter.com/h4jNByVM3B
- Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 3, 2017
By beating players of such calibre, there is no telling what impression Bhambri and Ramkumar would have made on their confidence - about professional belonging and the stretchable boundaries of ability. Ramkumar beat Thiem in an ATP250 event in Turkey - one level above the Challengers - but his opponent belonged to a contemporary top 10. Bhambri was up against a player who only slipped out of the top 10 in February this year.
In just over a month, India's No.1 and 2 should be in the Davis Cup team playing Canada for a place in the world group. The Canadians have five players in the top 200, one in the top ten and the second is No. 72. You hope what Yuki and Ramkumar will have internalized into their professional data banks, is the idea that they possess the game to turn rankings into mere numbers through pure weight of shot. Both men had come through qualifiers in Washington, and Bhambri will next play Guido Pella next, who beat Ramkumar in the first round.
Other than the Chennai Open, it's been ages since Indian tennis had two singles players in the main draw of an ATP event of any size; or produced two upset results across five weeks. Yes, Indian players are not burning up ATP singles courts around the world, but at least we're showing up there. Blessings must be counted.