Tennis Tampa Bay
How long
have you participated in your league?
This is my second season. I joined
TennisTampaBay in November, 2021 for the first time and this actually is
my first league ever.
How did
you first learn about it?
One of my friends, Raj Anne, introduced me
to this league.
How often
do you play?
3-4 times a week. If time and body
permits, my mind and heart asks for it everyday :-)
What do
you like most about the league?
The best part is getting to play with a
lot of different styles of players. Some love being aggressive, some would
just love to keep building rallies. It really developed me better as a
player. Before this, I have never played with these many different styles. And
of course the flexibility to meet people and play. I never run out of
people to hit with. It has given me many new friends and I would love this
community to keep growing further.
Tell us
about your most memorable match(es).
I would think of 3 matches which really
stood out and stay in my memory. One was last season's semi-final with Tom
Foran where I won but I loved playing with Tom since we kind of have
a similar style of playing, we both have decent top spins and good serves (Tom
has better than me of course, balls were kicking 2-3 ft over my head almost
every time).
Second was the one I played with
Chritopher Conte (I'm sure he is 4.5 or up) and lost 0-6,0-6 ( In my opinion,
he is the only opponent I faced ever where I could not handle the pace of the
shots).
Last but not the least was with Alexander
Damjanovic, lost 5-7,5-7. Both sets started with 0-2 and I took the lead to 3-2
on both and I was 2 points away to level the first set (at 5-6 down) and 2
points away to win the second (at 5-4) but couldn't convert it. Alexander
really has great slices and flat top spin shots with wide angles. I was
really happy with the way I competed in this match knowing Alex plays 4.0 and
4.5 level.
I would not say rival but I would love to
play with Andrew Epperson again and again, even though he beat me badly in both
the matches, I see him as the most consistent player with the best defense.
I wish I could get only 50% of his consistency.
Do you have
any other interesting comments about your experiences with the league?
Well, when I started playing this league I
used to get frustrated initially with few unconventional styles of tennis and
would just give away the match in frustration. I slowly learnt
to focus on my game rather than the feed and I can proudly say I'm getting
better. With only 15 months of tennis in my life, without any professional
coaching, I feel I came a long way and thanks to this network of players as
well who really shares great feedback after every match.
How did
you get started playing tennis?
I was out of work for a few months during
2020 and finally October, 2020 started with one of my friends just to kill some
time but never knew that this would become my obsession (in a positive sense).
Do you
play to compete, or for fun?
Right now, I am playing to improve
and learn. Playing great and losing gives me more pleasure than playing bad and
somehow winning.
What level
player are you? (NTRP rating)
3.5
I just love every aspect of it. The
mechanics behind how a contact should be made to mental toughness.
Who are your favorite pro players? Why?
Rafa. He has got the best shots
either forehand or backhand. I think the only player with no bend in his arms
while contacting the ball gives him the most spin and power.
What do
you do? Where did you grow up? What are your hobbies (besides tennis)?
Mechanical Engineer in Application sales.
I grew up in one of the Himalayan towns, in north India and came to the USA for
a Master's degree and have been here since then. I love working out in the gym
5 days a week if time allows and love hanging out in the mountain sides. Just
have one beloved wife :-) and one kid.
