Manas Dhamne has been the shining light of Indian Junior Tennis over the past couple of years after having won the U12 Eddie Herr title in the US. Manas is currently based in Italy at the Piatti Tennis Center under the watchful eyes of renowned coach Ricardo Piatti.
Our ITD Member from Chandigarh, Prasang Raheja caught up with Manas Dhamne during the 2 back-to-back ITF events for a brief interview.
Thoughts on your title win. It gets you into a top-150 rank.
Yes, it is my first ITF Title. I am very happy with this win and title! Sure this win will help me to get in top 150 and it will motivate and encourage me to perform better in all the forthcoming tournaments.
Coming into the final, I didn’t have any pre-decided game plan. I just played my game and thoughts clicked at that moment.
Playing 8 singles matches in a row is physically exhausting but winning the title relaxed me mentally.
How do you review the week?
Overall the week was good. I started from qualifying so I got more opportunity of play. All players in this tournament were good, so all the wins were special. I was able to handle the situations in all the matches and that has given me the most satisfaction.
You had a tough R1 loss in the first week after qualifying into the main draw.
Yes was a tough match but I was tight from the word go. I was leading in the first set but that tightness which crept in initially did the damage. Yeah I could have played a better first round match for sure.
How was your preparation for the Junior ITFs?
I have trained well in the off season. I haven’t played any tournaments in the last few months. Just getting into the tournament groove and I am sure better results will come.
How do you feel your training in Italy 🇮🇹 under Ricardo Piatti has changed your game?
I am working under a structured program and I am very fortunate that I am getting lot of motivation from the coaches who are like family now. They make sure that everything is planned and it’s really great for me. There are a lot of improvements in my game especially the way I am playing an offensive forehand now.
Taking the ball early and it’s smoother than earlier. So yes a lot of improvement due to focused training and structure.
What are your immediate goals – playing consistently in Junior tournaments or also playing Men’s?
Right now we are focused on mix of Juniors and Men’s futures tournaments and I am very keen to improve my game so I can play with some good weapons on the professional Men’s circuit. Training is top priority and I am getting a lot of support at the Ricardo Piatti Tennis Centre in Bordighera, Italy.
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