19 year old Aryan Shah stopped Jay Clarke’s 14-match winning streak to lift the ITF $30,000 Ahmedabad Futures title. Shah, ranked 567, beat Clarke, ranked 298, 6-1 6-3. This is Shah’s 2nd pro singles title, and first one at the M25 level.
We caught up with Shah after his win. Excerpts below –
Q) On the title and final today against Jay Clarke
AS – Always feels special to win a title. This is my maiden M25 level title. Happy with the result and the level of Tennis I showcased today. It is kind of a breakthrough title. It will help me boost up my rankings. It will help me get into Challengers as quickly as possible.
I watched Karan (Singh) and Jay’s semi yesterday. I had played him last week as well in GU (Gujarat University) at the M15 event and had lost in the third set. So it feels good to turn it around.
Q) On the crowd support in the final
AS – I am very thankful and grateful for the support. People showed up, not just in the final, but in all my matches. Lot of people were showing up from the first round itself, my batchmates from the academy, coaches, and tennis enthusiasts from around the city.
Honestly, it feels special. There are not a lot of pro events in my home city, especially in my home academy. Here’s where I train (Altevol Academy, the venue of the tournament). You get that extra edge with the home and academy support.
Q) On the semis win vs Kriish Tyagi
AS – It felt special to get the win. I had played Kriish once before in Juniors, so I actually knew how he plays. But a lot of things have changed in two years. I knew he was high on confidence, going through the qualifying and making the semi-finals and earning his first ATP points. But I also knew he was going to get tired physically because it’s been a long week with the weather.
Q) On transitioning into the Challengers
AS – I will look to play as many Challengers as possible, even if it’s just qualifying. That will help me improve my game and boost up my rankings. I will check the calendar and try to play some in Asia, or maybe even go to Europe for a couple of weeks.
Aryan Shah in action (Photo – Siddharth Mewada)
Aryan Shah with parents (Photo – Siddharth Mewada)