The youngest member of India’s Davis Cup squad, Yuki Bhambri, feels the Argentine’s win against Federer is extremely motivating.

By Bhagya Ayyavoo

What can a giant achievement do to the big dreams of a young tennis ace? Probably, inspire beyond limits. That is exactly the case after a 6 feet 6-inch Juan Martin del Potro stunned five times champion Roger Federer, to be crowned the new US Open champion.  

Yuki Bhambri has always backed his hero, Federer, to deliver when it matters the most. When a 20-year-old Argentine stopped the Swiss ace from clinching his sixth straight crown at Flushing Meadows, the Delhi boy was heartbroken like other Federer fans across the world. But this time, the defeat was inspirational for Yuki.  

“No one expected Del Potro to beat Federer. It was a big upset. But, it is encouraging to see that players are maturing early. It definitely gives youngsters like me, who are dreaming of achieving that. This makes us believe that we can become a Grand Slam champion at 20 years or 21. Obviously, it’s not easy. But, it makes us believe that if we work hard, we can do it too and it’s not impossible,” Yuki told Mobile ESPN from Johannesburg, Tuesday night.  

Despite the junior Australian Open champion’s fruitless run at the US Open, where an unseeded American Chase Buchanan knocked out the top seed in the boys’ singles quarterfinals, Yuki’s rise up the ATP rankings has been heart-warming.
 
Yuki has climbed up 220 rungs since July this year, to be ranked No. 422 as per the new list released on September 14. “I have exceeded my own expectations this year and I am looking forward to play and win more matches in the professional circuit.”

Yuki believes the ITF professional circuit is the best place to learn the trade that has given great champions like Federer many adorable sporting trophies.  

“This is the time when I can still experiment on my game without really paying attention to the results. It is an added bonus to be ranked so high. This means, even at this (early) stage, I can start competing at higher level tournaments and see where I stand,” the latest entrant in India’s Davis Cup squad said.

The next target for Yuki is to improve his ranking further as he negotiates his transition from the junior circuit to the professional stage. To achieve that, Yuki is already working on his game.  

“I still have to work on every aspect of the game. I have to work on my volley. My serve still needs to be consistent and I have to get more variations into my game. I need to work a little more in my net game so that I can change strategies if I want to. And, in the process, hopefully I can end the year in the Top 400 and even better than that,” he says.