By Alex Gruskin for Cracked Racquets | Presented on Indian Tennis Daily

Following a massive victory over World No. 155 Billy Harris at the ATP 125 Cranbrook Tennis Classic, Indian rising star Dhakshineswar “DK” Suresh (ATP No. 436) sat down with Cracked Racquets’ Alex Gruskin. Suresh, who entered the main draw as a lucky loser, opened up about his transition from college tennis to the professional tour, the mental toll of life on the road, and the unmatched honor of representing India on the global stage.

Here is a complete look at DK Suresh’s match results from the Cranbrook Tennis Classic (Bloomfield Hills Challenger):

• Q1: DK Suresh (IND, 436) d. Brandon Perez (VEN, 1468) 6-4, 6-2
• Q2: Bruno Kuzuhara (USA, 616) d. DK Suresh (IND, 436) 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4
• R32: DK Suresh (IND, 436) d. Billy Harris (GBR, 155) 6-2, 6-4
• R16: DK Suresh (IND, 436) d. Borna Gojo (CRO, 169) 6-2, 6-4
• QF: DK Suresh (IND, 436) vs. Andres Martin (USA, 322) (Scheduled)

Below is the detailed Q&A from their post-match conversation.

The Breakthrough at Bloomfield

Alex Gruskin: Joining us fresh off his straight-set Round 1 victory here at the Cranbrook Tennis Classic is our old friend—it hurts me to call him a former Wake Forest Demon Deacon, but that’s what he is now—DK Suresh. DK, always good to see you. Congratulations on the win. Talk me through the match and getting that comfortable win. What were you doing best out there?

DK Suresh: Thank you so much. Obviously, I got lucky as the lucky loser. I had a bad day in the final round of qualifying, but I tried to put it behind me and came back the next day to start fresh. I played well, and I felt like Billy had a tough day, so I was able to capitalize on that and just stay focused to win the match.

Alex Gruskin: To face someone with a similar game style—who wants to hit the big first serve and play first-strike tennis to move forward—do you prefer playing that sort of matchup? What do you have to do against someone with a game style you must be familiar with?

DK Suresh: I definitely know what to expect and what the mindset could be playing against a similar game style. I just went into the match focusing heavily on my own serve. I know that if I get broken, it’s going to be tough to break back. During my service games, I was 200% focused. On his serve, I tried to play my best tennis. He was a little sloppy here and there, which is tough when you play a big game style and miss balls, so I capitalized on those chances and it worked out in my favor.

Alex Gruskin: It might be a silly question, but if you get an early break in a set, how does that change your mentality? Someone like me who doesn’t have your serve needs to break as much as possible, but you perhaps don’t have that burden. Does the focus switch?

DK Suresh: It does change things a little bit. If I’m up a break, I get a bit freer. I still need to heavily focus on my service games, but on the return games, I have more of an advantage to go bigger without pressure. If I get another break, that’s just a bonus.

The Transition: College vs. The Pro Tour

Alex Gruskin: There are a lot of players here who just finished the college tennis spring season. For fans who don’t follow college tennis closely, they might not realize how taxing it is physically and mentally. Where were you at the end of May before setting off on your pro journey?

DK Suresh: College tennis is definitely one of the best experiences you can have, and my last four years were great. But it is a long season. You play from January to May, with lots of matches every weekend. It takes a toll, especially when you also have to attend classes and keep up your GPA. You’re playing matches at the highest level—everyone in college is almost playing Challenger-level tennis. After the season, I took a couple of weeks off to cool down before getting back on the tour. It’s a bit more flexible now because you can pick and choose your tournaments based on how your body feels.

Alex Gruskin: What’s a tougher travel transition: going from Lincoln to Bloomfield Hills, or the cross-country college trip out west to play Stanford and Cal?

DK Suresh: On the pro tour, you have to travel country to country—one week in the US, another in Europe. College tennis has a lot of travel too, but the biggest difference is the support. In college, you go from playing for a crowd in North Carolina to playing at Cal where you have no one on your side. Both have their pros and cons.

Alex Gruskin: As you get ready for the full pro journey, what do you think is the bigger adjustment: the physical tennis side or the mental side?

DK Suresh: Definitely the mental side. It gets lonely on the pro tour. In college, you’re traveling with a whole team; flights, hotels, and food are all taken care of. On the pro tour, you are essentially babysitting yourself—booking your own flights, finding hotels, arranging your stringing. You have to mature and manage yourself. You also need someone by your side—a coach or a trainer—to push you on the days you don’t feel good. It’s easy to lay down and say you’ll take care of it later. So I need to focus on my off-court effort because that reflects on the court.

Looking Ahead: Schedules and Goals

Alex Gruskin: What does your pro schedule look like for the first few weeks and months as you start this life?

DK Suresh: I played Cary, Lincoln, and Bloomfield so far. I’m trying to get in the Challenger swing I did last summer to defend some points or make more. I’ll play Lexington and Brownsburg (in Indiana) next. After that, I have the Davis Cup coming up. We are in the Round of 16 and we’re heading to play South Korea. Following that, I have the Asian Games.

Alex Gruskin: I don’t think we’ve publicly spoken about your incredible Davis Cup experience. How does representing your nation compare to all your other accomplishments?

DK Suresh: It’s an insane feeling playing for your country. Tennis is pretty big in India; there are a lot of people who love the sport. Playing for a country with everyone behind you is incredible. It feels a bit like the team-event atmosphere I experienced in college, which helps.

Alex Gruskin: Will you be playing both singles and doubles in the Asian Games as well?

DK Suresh: I hope so, yes.

Alex Gruskin: Finally, looking at these first six months in the pro tour off-season, what do you hope to look back and say you accomplished?

DK Suresh: By December, I want to try to crack the top 250 or top 200. I haven’t played a lot of tournaments between January and May previously due to college, so I don’t have anything to defend next year during that window. My goal is to gain as many points as possible right now to set myself up well for next season.