Subhash is the youngest player to get a wild card in a Grand Slam.
By Sujeet Rajan
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FLUSHING MEADOWS, NEW YORK: Juxtaposed between Citi Field, the home of the Mets baseball team, and the stadiums of the US Open – the Louis Armstrong and the Arthur Ashe stadiums, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center here in Flushing Meadows – as well as the unique amalgam of soaring aircraft from the nearby LaGuardia and the JFK airports, busy highways choked with teeming traffic, and the steady bustle of the No. 7 subway train which disgorges passengers at the foundation level of the stadiums, are semblances of great past and present players in progress, basted and molded, with almost every volley and serve.
It’s the practice courts. Where the future greats of the game vie in fast and furious tussle for attention at a Grand Slam, compete in the junior boys and girls events, confined to those who are under the age of 18.
Multiple matches take place simultaneously alongside these courts. There are no ball boys. The grunts from the girls on a court as they stretch for a volley may overshadow the raucous fist pumps of a boys’ match after a groundstroke winner, on the adjacent court.
The cheers of spectators are rather dubious, at times. Who is clapping for whom, with so many matches in play, is anybody’s guess. Some clap at a random shot before they move on to an adjacent food court, or buy memorabilia. There is plenty of movement on and off the court.
One thing’s for sure. As aspirations of future greats of the game flicker in its surety and immaturity, with lapses in concentration and consistency, one can see sporadic flashes of brilliance: a passing volley as smooth as essayed by Federer, the heavy topspin backhand of Nadal, jagged forehand mastered by Djokovic, the hard forecourt play of Serena Williams.
It’s riveting. Out of the pack of these youngsters, will emerge tomorrow’s tennis greats. Who surely will take the world by storm; will move onto at the Arthur Ashe and the Louis Armstrong stadiums for their matches, under the lights. In prime time.
And one of those juniors seen at play on Friday at the US Open – the first day of the qualifiers – who may eventually break out from the group of the wannabes is Natasha Subhash, who turned 14 three days ago, on September 2nd. She is the youngest ever to get a wild card by the United States Tennis Association at a Grand Slam.
Subhash did not disappoint the belief entrusted upon her.
In belligerent play, which made for riveting viewing, Subhash won her open qualifying round with an emphatic win over the 9th seed Mihika Yadav of India – in straight sets 6-4, 6-2. Yadav is ranked 75th in the world in the girls juniors, under 18.
Subhash plays entertaining tennis. Her all-out aggressive play, belied by an almost casual kind of walk around the court as she plots play, hunched a little around the shoulders, shows tennis acumen far beyond her years. She launches splitting groundstrokes with equal velocity from the forehand and the backhand. It brings back memories of a young Lindsay Davenport or a Martina Hingis, vanquishing opponents.
Subhash began on a nervous note, by losing her opening serve, in the first game of the match. But then broke back immediately, and thereafter never let go of the momentum. She ended up finally with six aces, serving four in one game, in the second set.
What sets Subhash out is also her tenacity in court movement. In most of the junior matches on the Deco Turf of the US Open, it’s more often than not, a battle won and lost from the baseline. Subhash, however, despite this being her first outing at a Grand Slam, served and volleyed several times to perfection, and used the drop shot admirably. She will be a natural on the grass courts of Wimbledon.
Yadav, a top junior from India, who is just shy of turning 16, was made to run from one corner of the court to another in extended rallies, only to be finally passed by Subhash.
Most points Subhash lost, apart from the opening game squandered due to double faults galore, was more to her overt aggression, which turned to faults, rather than Yadav’s play. Subhash steamrolled Yadav otherwise.
In interviews post-match, Subhash said she grew in confidence as the match progressed, and began to find her footing. Yadav blamed poor mobility, because of a swollen ankle.
Subhash plays her second round of the qualifiers on Saturday.