Sidharth Rawat is an Economics graduate from Hansraj College, one of the top colleges in the country(Read – From B.A. (Econ.) (Hons.) to Professional Tennis : The Sidharth Rawat Journey). He has been in the Indian Davis Cup squad, made noise in the international circuit, and is now trying to add another feather in his cap – Civil Services
Sidharth talks about how it has been for him to prepare for Civil Services entrance while continuing to play tennis on the professional circuit, his form post pandemic, his goals for Indore and the rest of the Futures events in India, and much more
Q) You had a QF finish in Lucknow last week. How do you feel about your game right now and your chances for this tourney?
A QF finish definitely was a good boost to my confidence. I was playing in Egypt before that. The conditions were not in my favor as I don’t like windy conditions and fast surfaces. But it feels good to play in India. I hope there are more and more tournaments in the country
About this week in Indore, I called Balu Sir to make small corrections in my game as compared to Lucknow last week. Hopefully it goes well and I shall do well this week
Q) You were transitioning into the Challenger circuit before the pandemic. However, it has been a difficult journey for you since the return. How do you view this period?
I definitely had the momentum before the pandemic. I was trying to play aggressive. But now I’ve had to start from scratch, mentally. Because playing aggressive is about the mindset, more than anything else. But I’m feeling good slowly, slowly. My results were not in my favor for sure. Maybe other things such as studies were also affecting me. But I’m fully focused now and things will work in my favor sooner rather than later
Q) During the pandemic – you were preparing for the Civil Services as well doing your training – how easy / tough was it to find the balance?
Yes, I will be appearing for the Civil Services exam on the 27th June. Balancing part was tough as I was studying 8-10 hours a day and playing tennis 3-4 hours a day before the tournaments started. I am still trying to balance it out, especially during tournaments. But both studies and tennis are my priorities right now. Let’s see how it goes!
Q) What do you think are the areas that you need to work on to get back to your level from before the pandemic?
I need to work on my mindset. I am trying to get back to the aggressive mindset that I had developed before the pandemic. I would say that the quality of my game is much better than it was before the pandemic. So I’m just trusting the process and the results should come sooner rather than later
Q) What will your schedule look like post the Indian series of Futures events?
I might take a risk for a few Tour events or Challengers. The qualifying draws at the 250 events in Doha and Singapore went empty. And I don’t defend any points until July. So I think this is the perfect time to take a risk and play in higher category events
