Dhakshineswar Suresh sat calmly in a corner of the cafeteria as he watched a tennis match on the courts of the Maharashtra Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA) complex in Mumbai. But that’s a few hours after he brought the storm to the court.
He is the top seed at the M25 Futures event in Mumbai. Earlier on Wednesday, he raced through his opening round with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Kazakhstan’s Grigoriy Lomakin. A few hours later, he paired up with Manish Sureshkumar to eke out a tight win in the first round of doubles.
Dhakshineswar unleashed his booming serve, powerful forehand and showcased his volleying ability. The big game style from the man who stands at 6-foot-5 has started to make him more and more known among Indian tennis fans. And it has been a long time coming.
Dhakshineswar is 26, but his professional career is only getting started. In May, the Madurai-born graduated from the Wake Forest University in the United States and joined the international pro circuit.
College tennis was not in the plan when he started out in tennis. But a serious back injury in 2020 got him to a point where “doctors said might not be able to play tennis again,” Dhakshineswar recalled.
{{/usCountry}}College tennis was not in the plan when he started out in tennis. But a serious back injury in 2020 got him to a point where “doctors said might not be able to play tennis again,” Dhakshineswar recalled.
{{/usCountry}}But once he recovered, his mentor Somdev Devvarman, the former India No.1 and world No.62, encouraged him to rebuild his game through the US college circuit. The injury and college tennis delayed his entry into the pro circuit. But along the way, in two Davis Cup ties for India in Switzerland last year and against a stronger Dutch team in Bengaluru in February, the explosive right-hander unleashed his weapons at a time when the Indian team was desperate for positive results in singles.
The tie against Netherlands in particular gave him a boost as he got set to make the transition to the pro circuit in May.
“Being a professional tennis player was my dream. It was the perfect timing, getting it done in the Davis Cup and then graduating and getting ready to go out on the pro tour,” Dhakshineswar told HT. “I’m happy with how I did in college and that chapter is done.”
From being ranked 521 at the start of the year, he has started to find his feet as a professional – he reached the semi-final of an ATP Challenger in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
“In college, it’s a team sport and everything is taken care of for you. They pretty much pamper you and you just have to step on court and play,” said the world No.421. “But when you’re on tour, you realise how lonely the sport is. You have to plan all your tournaments, flights, hotels… everything on your own. It’s tough out there, but you just got to keep grinding.”
He still goes back to his college to train when he is in the US, while focusing on practicing at the Rohan Bopanna Tennis Academy (RBTA) in Bengaluru when in India.
This is the second time he has gone pro. The first time ended when he suffered the back injury. However, he was determined to give it another go, although it came only six years later.
“It was easy to quit, but given how hard I worked to get to where I was, the effort, sacrifices and money my parents had put in… I was determined to give it another push to see if I can do it,” he said.
“I’ve lost years, but I try not to be negative. When you’re 26, it gets tougher. Everyone blooms at their own time. I’m just happy that I’m playing right now.”
These are still early stages in his pro career, but the playing style and his mentality have been encouraging.
There is clarity on what his strengths are – the big game. But it is a high-risk, high-reward style that can also lead to a high unforced error count.
“That is part of the package,” noted coach M Balachandran, director at the RBTA, told HT. “But the challenge now is on the execution. How to be more consistent, how to reduce and remove the errors, what to do when the big first serve is not falling in, what to do on a slower court, what is the Plan B…”
What is important though is that Dhakshineswar does not get discouraged when the errors creep in.
“He’s not scared of missing. He knows the big game is his strength, so if he misses one shot, he will still go for it on the next ball,” Balachandran added.
The game is continuing to develop. Off-court though, Dhakshineswar makes it a priority to stay injury-free. He has worked on his fitness and travels with a physio as often as possible.
“Especially, right after the injury I knew exactly what to do and what not to. I've been focused on that,” he said.
He is now looking to improve his ranking to get a spot in the Australian Open qualification next year. The dream to become a pro tennis player is complete. The pursuit of another dream begins.