Mentor hails DK Suresh’s talent after stunning Davis Cup performance

CHENNAI: Dhakshineswar Suresh has swiftly captured the spotlight in Indian tennis circles. In a twist few saw coming, the 25-year-old was drafted into India’s Davis Cup main squad from the reserves for the tie against Switzerland, a bold move by captain Rohit Rajpal that paid off.Any doubts were put to rest when world No. 626 Suresh, on his debut, stunned Jerome Kym – ranked 471 places above him –with a commanding performance. Kym entered the competition on the back of a third-round appearance at the US Open. The big-serving Suresh laid the foundation for India’s progress to the Davis Cup Qualifiers.Hailing from Madurai, the 6feet-5-inch tall Suresh was mentored by Somdev Devvarman at the Aspire academy in Chennai. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Suresh moved to the USA to pursue his dreams. The journey was not without its challenges; in 2020, he suffered a severe back injury and was barely able to walk. With the pandemic raging and the injury sidelining him, he lost precious years. However, Suresh never gave up. He continued to overcome challenges and has now become the toast of the nation. Several Indian players, including Somdev Devvarman and Mahesh Bhupathi, used the collegiate route to enhance their careers and Suresh has taken a similar route. An undergraduate student of the Wake Forest University in Winston Salem, Suresh drew attention in recent months, defeating two top-150 players en route to the Lexington Challenger quarterfinals. He later pulled off a major upset by defeating the then world No. 126 Alejandro Tabilo to reach the main draw of the ATP 250 Winston Salem Open.Despite his low ranking, Suresh was able to enter Challenger events by being among the top collegiate players, who were granted direct entry through the ATP Next Gen Accelerator programme. Interestingly, it was Somdev who guided Suresh on his move to the USA, and Somdev’s coach during his time at the University of Virginia, Tony Bresky, is now Suresh’s head coach.
The two (Suresh and Somdev) first met during a pre-season camp in 2016 in Chennai, where the latter was impressed by Suresh’s talent. Somdev went on to mentor Suresh for several years and, most recently, had a short training stint with him in May.“DK (Suresh) is a part of an incredibly good system and environment. He has been playing in high-pressure matches for the past few years and that is why he looked as comfortable as he did out there (Davis Cup). It has been a long time coming because we have known his talent for a long time. There were tough times and he had different challenges. Credit to him for the work he has put in. He is just getting started and I will say with 100 per cent confidence that the best is yet to come and there is no question about it,” Somdev told TOI.While Suresh is known for his big service games, he put on an all-round show against Kym. He capped off the first set with a deft lob over Kym on set point. And he used his backhand to good effect, an area that needed improvement last year. “I have always been a believer in improving strengths. I think all the great players back themselves in what they do best. Take a look at his strengths – hitting the ball big, serving huge, and being intimidating to play against. These are the things that he should focus on. If you go out there and hold serve six times against anyone, you have got a chance.”