Fresh off a stunning first round win over a higher-ranked opponent, wildcard Kriish Tyagi sat down with us to reflect on his Bengaluru Challenger Round 1 win, life at Texas A&M, and what drives him on court.
Q: Walk us through the match.
Kriish: In the first set, I got an early break and then I was just holding my serves. I felt like I was sticking to the game plan and I could break them once again. Service-wise in the first set, I was pretty solid. In the second set, I had a few chances early on but he played pretty good on those points. We kept holding our serves, but then I got a few lucky points at 5-0 and I could break him and help myself to finish the match.
Q: You’ve grown up here and played most of your tennis here recently — that must have been an advantage playing at home?
Kriish: Yeah, for sure. For me it’s like another match at my home place. It felt the same, I’m used to these courts. I actually love playing on these courts — it was definitely an advantage for me.
Q: Tell us about your time studying in the US and how that’s helped your tennis.
Kriish: I studied at Texas A&M. College tennis has helped me a lot because I’m always playing with good, highly-ranked players on a daily basis. I learn what they eat, how disciplined they are, what to do on court, the intensity — everything. It’s helped me a lot this one year.
Q: What’s the major difference you find between the coaching and players there versus here?
Kriish: I don’t really see a difference in terms of quality. I just see that there are more good players there. You spend most of your time with players who want to go pro and have the same goals as you, which helps a lot.
Q: What does a typical day at college look like?
Kriish: We have a team of players and I fix up one-on-one sessions with one of them when the court is free, along with one-on-one time with a coach. Then it depends on how many school classes I have. After classes, we go back to the courts — two hours of tennis and then one hour of fitness, alternating between conditioning and strength training depending on how we plan it going into tournaments.
Q: How tough was it adjusting to that life after coming from India?
Kriish: Honestly, before I went to college, I was already expecting it to be tough — being alone, away from family. Here, my family helps me with everything. There, from food to classes to courts to physio, everything is by myself. But that makes me more responsible.
Q: Does taking ownership of your own life there help you on court as well?
Kriish: It definitely does. When you do everything by yourself, it makes you mentally stronger — you know no one’s going to help you, and that correlates on the court. It’s helped a lot.
Q: You mentioned you love playing here — what is it about these courts specifically?
Kriish: Since I was playing AITA juniors, I used to play tournaments here. These courts suit my game style, and weather-wise, I’m from here so I’m used to it. Yeah, I just feel comfortable here.
Q: The courts seem a little harder compared to previous years — do you find that difficult to adjust to?
Kriish: Not really, because I’m in Texas and it’s quite hard there too. So I’m quite used to it.
Q: What are the plans after your first year of college? Any pro tournaments lined up?
Kriish: I do have plans to continue on the pro circuit. I haven’t finalised which tournaments I’m going to play yet — I want to play these events here in India first and see where I need to work on. Depending on whether I need more match practice, I’ll go pick tournaments accordingly.
Q: You’re one of the exciting young Indian names coming through. Does that add any extra pressure in terms of performance and expectations?
Kriish: I just care about myself and how I’m progressing. I don’t really think about what others are saying or doing. Of course there are people with expectations, but once I step on court I’m just trying to go out there, have fun, and enjoy my time. I don’t really take pressure from that.
Kriish Tyagi takes on Yuta Kawahashi (ATP 637) in the Round of 16 — another player ranked well above him, another opportunity to turn heads at the Bengaluru Challenger.