Hitesh Chauhan’s heroic run at the Roland-Garros Junior Championships came to a dramatic close after a three-set thriller against Australian Open finalist and World No. 9, Benjamin Willwerth. We caught up with the young Indian star to discuss the intense match, his newfound confidence, and his journey on the clay courts of Paris.
ITD: Hitesh, congratulations. It was a tough result today, but a truly heroic fight against an Australian Open finalist. What are your thoughts on the match?
Hitesh Chauhan: First of all, the match was really good. The intensity, the hype, everything was just incredible today. In the first set, he played really well—hitting his spots and serving great. I couldn’t take any chances, so the first set was all him. For me, it was about feeling the ball, getting into the match, and learning his game—what he does on crucial points.
In the second set, I told myself, “You can’t have this many chances in your life.” It’s a precious moment for me, a big tournament, a Grand Slam. So, I just decided to give it my all. I played my game, played freely, and did everything I could. I won it 6-2.
The third set was really close. I was up 4-2, but he held a good serve to make it 4-3. When I was serving, I was a little anxious, I would say, because it was a really close moment. I missed two first balls, and he took his chance and gained confidence. After that, it was just holding, holding, holding. At 6-all, it went to a 10-point tiebreak, which confused me because I was expecting a normal 7-point one. I was in the lead—2-1, 3-2, 4-3—but he broke me at 7-6 on my serve. After that, he just played too good. The first balls, the volleys, everything was just good. But I’m happy with my performance. I did really well, beat some good players, and today was a very close match. I feel I could have won today with the way I was playing.
ITD: This tournament included three big wins against high-ranked players and clay-court specialists, and then this incredibly close match. What does this run do for your confidence?
Hitesh Chauhan: It boosts my confidence a lot. Coming from losing in the first or second round of GCs to now playing with the top guys feels really different. I can feel like, “Okay, I can beat these guys.” My opponent was number eight or nine in the world. So now I’m gaining confidence that I can play with these big boys in the top 10, and I have the potential to be in the top 10. It was a good tournament for me.
ITD: It looked like you were feeling really comfortable on the European clay, which is not always the case for Indian players. Is that something you consciously developed?
Hitesh Chauhan: Actually, I didn’t develop it. I just practiced for two days before the qualifiers began. I was feeling good, but I didn’t know I was going to go this far in the tournament. It’s not that far, I mean, the second round, but still, it was a good tournament for me. I liked the clay a lot; I was feeling good on it.
ITD: Round Glass has been a huge pillar of support for you. Can you tell us about their role?
Hitesh Chauhan: Round Glass has been such a great opportunity for me, and I’m really grateful that they gave me a chance to perform on this platform. I would like to thank Sunny Gurpreet Singh for the sponsorship and for helping me in my tennis journey, because tennis is an expensive sport and financially it’s really tough. I would also like to thank my team back home for rooting for me. And thank you to Adi Sir; his hard work, my hard work, and the whole team made this possible.