Confident Dev hopes to shine at Roland Garros

Ahmedabad: While all eyes will be on the the 12-time French Open winner and ‘king of clay’ Rafael Nadal sweating it out with the in-form Novak Djokovic and rising stars such as Dominic Thiem and Alexender Zverev at the Roland Garros starting Sunday, there is plenty of interest in the Grand Slam for the tennis fans in Ahmedabad too.While Ahmedabad-born Ankita Raina has entered the second round of the women’s qualifiers, another city boy Dev Javia is all set to fly to the French capital on September 29.“Dev will be playing the Junior French Open wildcard tournament in Paris against the champions from Brazil and Mexico on October 2,’’ said Shrimal Bhatt, Dev’s coach who will accompany the 18-year-old to Paris. “A win at the Junior French Open 2020 (Roland Garros) wildcard tournament will ensure a wild card for the Junior main Draw from Oct 4-10. It is great to see a Gujarati boy competing at the Grand Slam venue,’’ said Shrimal, who is also the secretary of the Gujarat State Tennis Association.The 18-yr-old Dev too is excited to be playing in Paris. “It is indeed a dream come true for me to play at the Roland Garros. I hope to see my idol Nadal playing live at the same venue,’’ said Dev, who practices at the Altevol Tennis Academy in the city.