Indian tennis player Aryan Shah expressed confidence and satisfaction after securing his first win over Crawford, improving their head-to-head record from 0–4 to 1–4. In his conversation with Indian Tennis Daily, Shah emphasized his mental resilience, highlighting how staying mentally strong and believing in his abilities were key to the breakthrough victory.
Shah noted that he has been in strong form over the past two weeks, collecting multiple wins against higher-ranked opponents, including five top-300 victories. He credited his recent rise in level to improved shot placement, greater trust in his strengths, and reduced self-doubt during matches. While pleased with his progress and current confidence, Shah made it clear that he is not satisfied yet and is aiming for a place in the finals. Competing in Spain, he believes the level of tennis he is currently producing reflects his potential and is determined to keep building on this momentum.
Prateek Chachra: First of all, please say hello to all our Indian Tennis Daily fans, and huge congratulations today. He finally actually shifted the head-to-head against Crawford from 0–4 to 1–4. How does it feel?
Aryan Shah: I mentioned it, but I didn’t want the head-to-head to be mentioned there, because I got two total bashings up there. But I was mentally strong enough to go out on the court today. I put one in my favour, but I would say I had a pretty solid match from my side. I was mentally there, physically I was strong, and I just had to be there mentally and take the game as deep as I could, because I knew I’m capable enough to beat any player on a given day. So I just need some self-belief and self-confidence, which I had on the court today, and which I showed yesterday.
Prateek Chachra: Yeah, that’s beautiful actually. And the match as well — your energy and confidence actually showed, and the result also reflected the same. I was a huge fan of the way you showcased your weapons. How do you feel coming into the next matches?
Aryan Shah: I’ve been feeling great for the past two weeks. I mean, I had some seriously good wins last week as well, in terms of rankings, in terms of beating highly ranked players. And I would say I’m high on confidence, but I feel like the job isn’t done yet. I know I’m capable of more at this point, and I won’t be satisfied if I don’t make the finals. The level of tennis I’m showcasing right now is just too good, so I would like to keep improving.
Prateek Chachra: That’s beautiful. And you have four top-300 wins — now five including today — so congratulations for that as well. What do you think has contributed to the rise in the level so far?
Aryan Shah: I feel like tennis-wise, yes, there’s been a bit of change that’s pushing me forward somewhere. First of all, in the matches I’ve been focusing more on placement. I was not holding back my strengths as much, not doubting myself as much as I used to before. But it’s just that once you get a higher rank, you cannot always carry that confidence automatically into every match going forward. Still, I have the self-belief that I’m capable of putting out some great tennis in front of a good crowd today in Spain.