Subhash becomes the youngest Indian-origin girl to play in a Grand Slam.
By Sujeet Rajan
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FLUSHING MEADOWS, NEW YORK: In sports, sometimes an act of overcoming odds and difficult circumstances, to emerge triumphant could remain etched in memory, become an indelible part of it, rather than mere achievement.
One such moment was at the National Spelling Bee championship, in 2004, when Akshay Buddiga, then 13, fainted on stage attempting to spell the word ‘alopecoid’ in the early stages of the competition.
Buddiga, however, after he was revived a few minutes later on stage, got up shakily and immediately spelt the word, correctly. He finally became one of two finalists left on stage, but tripped on the word ‘schwarmerei’.
One may not remember who actually won that particular competition, but for most people it was the amazing fortitude of Buddiga that stood out, 11 years ago.
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Another such act of heroics in a sporting arena by a young Indian American, came about on Saturday at the 2015 US Open championships.
The rising tennis sensation Natasha Subhash, of Fairfax, Virginia, who became the youngest Indian American girl to ever get a wild card in a Grand Slam event, notched up another distinction in her dazzling young career: she is now the youngest Indian-origin girl to play in the main draw of the US Open junior girls championship.
In the second and final qualifying round match, Natasha, who turned 14 this past Wednesday, beat Olivia Hauger, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 in a thrilling match that lasted a little over three hours.
Hauger, who turns 18 later this month, is in the top 10 US juniors, and a veteran of the international circuit. She was a quarterfinalist in the junior girls at the 2014 Australian Open, and played in the main draw of the 2014 French Open.
Subhash had beaten the 9th seed Mihika Yadav of India, in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2, in the first round qualifying match, on Friday. Hauger had beaten No. 6 seed Oana Gavrila of Romania 6-4, 6-3 in the first round.
The match between Subhash and Hauger got quite a sizeable audience too as it progressed, with people watching from the bleachers as well as from a deck overlooking the court.
The score definitely makes it apparent that it was a comeback win for Subhash, but doesn’t tell the whole story.
Serving at 2-3 in the opening set – after she had broken back and overcome a 0-40 deficit to make it deuce, and playing entertaining tennis with her trademark all-out aggressive groundstrokes, Subhash suddenly hurt her knee after she slipped sideways, and collapsed on court. The look of agony on her face as she continued to stay down was alarming.
Subhash was attended to by a tournament trainer on court. She continued to stay down. A doctor was summoned. It seemed as if she might not be able to continue as she wobbled back slowly to her chair with the help of the trainer and the doctor. Match officials surrounded her. A medical time-out was taken.
More than 10 minutes later, after she convinced match officials she wanted to continue, her knee was heavily bandaged. When she resumed playing, Subhash seemed to have lost the deft touch on her strokes and quick movement on court. Despite her holding serve late in the first set, it seemed Hauger was well on her way to a quick finish.
The early stages of the second set seemed a painful endeavor for Subhash. She struggled to regain momentum, fell behind. With two breaks and then holding on to her serve, Hauger notched up a 4-0 lead. But it was becoming apparent that Subhash was beginning to find her flow on court again, her intelligent serve and volleys sharpened. Impeccable drop shots that turned to winners suggested why she is ranked no. 1 in the US in both the under-14 and u-16 girls’ categories, going into the US Open.
Subhash seemed also to draw upon inner resilience to charge up her game, drew upon the intensive strength training she has done. She is new to this level of the competition, but like she played against Yadav of India, her groundstrokes became a tough challenge for her opponent. The most impressive aspect of Subhash’s play is the way she likes to step up and take balls early with splitting groundstrokes on the flanks, from the forehand and the backhand.
Both Yadav and Hauger never got a respite from this relentless barrage which wore them down. Like Yadav, Hauger, too, was made to lunge from one end of the court to the other in extended rallies which ended mostly in Subhash emerging as the winner.
The scores went to 2-5, and serving for the set and the match Hauger had a match-point to finish it off; which she squandered.
Subhash dominated the match with sparkling play thereafter, showed no signs of the injury she suffered in the opening set. Continuing her aggressive play, she kept creating chances. She did, however, miss capitalizing on some opportunities at crucial junctures, especially overhead smashes, and putting away some weak second serves. It helped Hauger stay on longer in the match.
Hauger put more balls into court, only to find it coming back at her faster and harder. In desperation, she even tried a drop shot like Subhash, only to find Subhash adept to the challenge, rushing in and putting it away neatly, for a winner.
The third set was a well-contested one, but Subhash showed tremendous maturity on court to stay up to the task of winning the match, by breaking Hauger, at love.
In a post-match interview, a smiling Subhash, who was taken to the hospital later for MRI scans on her knee, said her win against Hauger was “the best comeback I’ve ever made.”
Asked on how she managed to stay on despite her injury, Subhash said that she kept telling herself to “believe” in herself and to focus on playing her normal game.
“I just wanted to stay focused and play like I do in all my other matches, and give the best I could,” said Subhash.
Bob Pass, founder of 4 Star Tennis Academy, where Subhash trains, commented after the match: “She did all the hard work, not me.”
Greg Petrosian, the Director of Fitness at 4 Star Academy, and Subhash’s trainer, was a relieved man, but looked concerned with the knee injury that she suffered. Petrosian was an Olympics long jumper for the erstwhile Soviet Union in the 1990s.
On Monday, in the first round, Subhash will play the 57th ranked junior girls player in the world, the 18-year-old Italian Beatrice Torelli.
The big worry for the hugely talented Subhash and her team, going into the main draw of the US Open, to be played on the ticketed grounds adjacent to the Arthur Ashe and the Louis Armstrong stadiums, would be her knee; how well she recovers from the injury.
Watch an interview with Natasha Subhash:
1 Comment
USA! God bless America the beautiful and Natasha-Subhash! Congratulations!