BENGALURU: Two years ago, Rafael Nadal’s pull-out from the French Open came as a boon for a certain 16-year-old Bengaluru boy, Adil Kalyanpur. Nadal’s then coach, his uncle Tony Nadal, watched Kalyanpur’s playoff match against Korean Minseom Lim in the Rendez-vous a Roland-Garros in Paris and was impressed by the Indian’s efforts. Kalyanpur was soon invited to train at Rafa Nadal academy in Mallorca, Spain.
Since then, the singles specialist is honing his skills at Mallorca and has moved on from his junior days to make a transition to the senior circuit. He has played in three Challengers tournaments including one at the main draw of Bengaluru Open and ten Futures competitions this year. While Kalyanpur did manage one semifinal and one quarterfinal finish in the Futures, he feels he isn’t quite there yet.
At the Bengaluru Open, he faced one of India’s best singles players, Saketh Myneni, in the first round and despite putting up a good fight in the second set, Kalyanpur lost the match 3-6, 6-7 (3). But at 18, he learned a valuable lesson on improving his skills.
“Playing against Myneni at this stage of my career is a big deal. I’m grateful to the Bengaluru Open organisers, who gave me the opportunity with a Wild Card for the main draw,” he said. “During my transition from junior to senior level, what I learned was how toned their skills are. Their game doesn’t change whatever condition they are in. I am comfortable with the Futures circuit and physically ready, but I have to work on my fitness and consistency to survive high-intensity games.”
Next year will be crucial for him. Kalyanpur, who was part of India’s Davis Cup reserve team for New Zealand tie, picked up his first ATP points last year, will spend most of 2019 polishing his skills and fitness before committing fully to the senior circuit.
“I will use 2019 as my building year. At present, I’m not going under the ball and that is causing the errors. Coaches think my serve and forehand have a lot of potential. That is one more area I will work on,” he reveals.
While 2019 will be a formative year for Adil, the changes in the ranking system mean he will have no ATP ranking points to show. Next year, Future tournaments with a prize money of USD 25,000 will offer ATP points only from the semifinals. Below that rung, players will get ITF entry points with an ITF World ranking.
“I’m not sure what my rankings will be and which tournaments to take part in next year. But I will play a few Futures and then I will have an idea of how the new ranking works. What I understand from the new ranking system is that it’s good for a player who wants to move up the rankings,” said the Junior Davis Cupper.