Growing champion from Coimbatore
He is no ordinary 18-year-old waiting for the results of the 12 th board exams. For Coimbatore lad, N Sriram Balaji is the number one tennis player in the country, in the under-18 category.Nearly 64 players participated in the national event held last October in New Delhi in the main rounds. The Coimbatore boy outran everyone and walked away with the India under-18 crown.Sriram got the bug after frequenting his school’s (Perk’s Matriculation School in Coimbatore) tennis court. Having started playing tennis on the hard court at the tender age of 10, he has played for India in many tournaments and clinched a good number of titles. And, represented his country at different levels like the under 12, 14, 16 and the 18 years category.He says in an interview ‘‘Tennis inspired me a lot and I took it up at an early age.’’Queried about his advantages and disadvantages on court, the teenager pauses for a moment to admit that forehand and backhand are his strengths.‘‘I need to improve on my volleying,’’ he points out, zeroing on that aspect of the game as his major disadvantage on court.Sriram’s father was a volleyball player. But, this teen chose tennis, which is something he can’t explain why. “ I just love this game more than anything else out there,” he says with a shrug.This tennis champ, who loves to play on the hard court, was part of the three member Indian team for the Junior Davis Cup held in Malaysia in May 2006. Sriram was the only player from the Tamil Nadu team, while the other two were from New Delhi and Punjab.The lad holds three ATP points today. He had scored his first point in May 2006 at a tournament in New Delhi, an “unforgettable moment” in his career.
Sriram was also selected by the Indian Olympic Committee for a ten-day youth camp at the Doha Asian Games last year. He also swung his Babolat racket in the Chennai Open qualifiers earlier this year.Tennis ace Roger Federer remains Sriram’s favourite international player, while Mahesh Bhupathi is the one, he admires at home. Having hit the courts for nearly 300 matches, including 50 tournaments, Sriram practices seven hours a day and aims to play the Davis Cup, one day.
