At the age of 15, he is the youngest player in Champions Tennis League
by S.N. Venkatnag Sobers
Mysore, over a decade ago produced great tennis players, from Mohit Vijay Kumar to Prahalad Srinath and from Neeth Devaiah to Pooja Shree, after which there had been a lull. Now we have Vasisht Cheruku from Mysuru. He is just 15-year-old, is over 6 foot tall, has a wide rage of shots and a mental strength to boot, making him a perfect tennis machine and many hope to see him in the international scene pretty soon.
As the first edition of Champions Tennis League (CTL) began recently in New Delhi, one boy from Mysuru stood tall, as Vasisht became the youngest player in the league. The CTL, headed by Indian tennis Legend Vijay Amritraj, has 12 top junior players from India drafted into six teams — with two players each. For Vasisht, the CTL has come at the right time when he has won every tournament there is to be won in his age category in India and now hopes to hit the international circuit.
Apart from playing various tournaments, Vasisht has represented India thrice in U-14 category. He has also presented Indian at the World Junior Tennis finals played at Czech Republic.
Vasisht, a national junior U-18 champion, started to play tennis at the age of 7 years under the guidance of Nagaraj. After having got a strong foundation from Nagaraj Tennis Academy in city, he joined Mysore Tennis Club (MTC) in 2011-12 . It was during this time that former Davis Cup player Prahalad Srinath, who was in Mysuru with his students at MTC, noticed Vasisht practising at MTC and asked him to join his Academy in Bangalore.
“It was a tough decision,” says Vasisht’s father Vinod Reddy, “as Vasisht was going to School in Mysore but Prahalad’s Tennis Academy was in Bangalore. Now he is in the National Institute of Open Schools programme so it gives him freedom to travel, of which there is a lot in tennis.” Inspite of his gurgling travel schedule, Vasisht is good at studies too, he has been a distinction student.
The rise of Vasisht in tennis has been phenomenal, considering that, he stopped playing in U-14 category much before he was 13-years-old and started playing in U-16 and U-18 categories and has now won almost all the Junior Tennis Tournament in the country. If you thought this would make the young lad pompous, he has his father to keep him grounded. “ I am happy that he has done well so far. I hope he continues to be humble and grows further in Tennis,” says his father.
Vinod had a lot of people, including his family and friends, to thank for supporting Vasisht throughout his endeavour to excel in tennis. He says: “lot of my family members and friends have supported us both financially and mentally to help Vasisht reach this level” and adds “my wife too has gone the extra mile, as sometime I cannot travel with Vasisht and she does, which can be quite tedious. Also, added to that is the anxiety one experiences when their child is playing, it can be quite stressful.”
On Vasisht being selected for Bangalore Raptors, Vinod said it was a good opportunity for young Indian tennis players to get exposed to international conditions and working style of international tennis players. “Though Vasisht may not get a chance to play, just being in team, along with Venus Williams, Thomas Enqvist and others, itself is a great opportunity to learn,” says Vinod.
When Vasisht was asked how it feels to be the youngest player in the Tennis Champions League, he says: “initially I didn’t believe it but then they sent the confirmation and I was very happy.” Speaking of what he hopes to gain from this experience, he says: “the very fact that I get to interact and get information is amazing. It will help mould my game better for international standards and more importantly mould my attitude and mental strength for the international games. Also, just to be with and practice with the people I have watched on TV and idolised is a great experience.”
This humble boy, who loves tennis and with a family that has taken a bold step by making their son’s passion their own, is sure to be the next big name in Indian Tennis and in turn, making Mysuru’s presence felt again in Tennis.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports News / Tuesday , November 18th, 2014