CHENNAI: It's 3.00 PM on two of the sun-kissed outer courts at the SDAT Tennis Stadium on Wednesday. For the 20 or so kids assembled there, it's an opportunity unlike any other. "A tennis clinic with Bjorn Borg"."I heard about it the day before yesterday (Monday) and I was excited since then," says Aadhya Balaji. "This was going to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, I don't know if I will experience something like this again."
The kids were divided into two groups — boys and girls — before they were put through their paces under the watchful eyes of Vijay Amritraj, Tamil Nadu Tennis Association (TNTA) president, and Borg, who's here on a week-long visit.
While the 11-time Major champion liked what he saw, he was quick to stop the session on multiple occasions to address technical issues whenever he saw them. "You have to catch the grip like this," he told one of the kids. "Don't stand close to the net while volleying," he told another. "Good, very good," he nodded in appreciation when one of the kids hit a backhand passing shot.
He made it a point to talk to all of them about their posture at the point of striking the ball. "I just want to say that all of you can play," he said. Only thing you have to think about is when you hit your ground strokes, you have to hit it like you are going to come into the net but you are not actually going to come in. Keep your weight forward."
On the adjacent court, Amritraj, one of the country's most high-profile singles players of all-time, made similar observations to the wards who were under him. "You have to meet the ball in your line of sight," he told all of them when a few of them had trouble in keeping the ball in play while volleying. "You shouldn't come so close to the net." Whenever he saw a good shot from the baseline, he shouted words of encouragement. "That's very good, keep doing it."
After the 75-minute session ended with rounds of photographs, both Amritraj and Borg had a small question and answer session with the kids and parents. The Swede, who was a natural on court during his playing days, spoke about the importance of practice and adapting to the game, irrespective of the surface.
"You just have to keep playing, practice a lot," he said. "You have to spend a lot of time on the court, that's what makes you a champion. You have to have motivation and a big heart and be ready to make lots of sacrifices. That's what we (Vijay and himself) did."For India's next generation, the countless Aadhyas, the challenge is to do that.
Top seed ousted
Taipei's top seed, Chun-Tsin Tseng, was eliminated in the second round by unseeded American, Nicolas Moreno de Alboran.
Select results (Rd 2)
Nicolas Moreno de Alboran bt Chun-Tsin Tseng (1) 6-2, 6-4. Yasutaka Uchiyama bt Dalibor Svrcina 6-1, 6-7 (10), 6-4.