If you follow Indian Tennis, Dhakshineswar Suresh is one name that you must have heard of recently. The 25-year-old tennis sensation from Tamil Nadu is grabbing eyeballs with stunning performances in the Challenger circuit.
He recently earned massive applause from World No. 147 ATP star Mark Lajal, whom he defeated in the second round of the ATP Lexington Challenger. Lajal was a heavy favourite heading into the contest but was outplayed by Suresh, who won the game 6-7, 6-4, 6-4.
After losing to Suresh, Lajal made a huge remark and ranked Suresh’s serve the heaviest he has faced. The claim is remarkable as Lajal has faced some of the top tennis players, including Carlos Alcaraz, Reilly Opelka, Lloyd Harris, and Arthur Fils, who are among the best servers in the world.
A player with a big serve is always tough to beat because he presents fewer break point opportunities, and if he has a good return game, then beating him becomes even tougher. All top players in the world have great serves, and the compliment from Lajal is big enough to induce a lot of confidence in the young Suresh.
“Suresh has the heaviest serve I have faced,” said Lajal as quoted by Indian Tennis Daily.
Suresh made his ATP debut in the Winston-Salem Open after getting a wildcard in the doubles main draw and reached the semifinals. He also showed promise in the singles circuit and slammed 15 aces, grabbing eyeballs because of his huge serve, even though he couldn’t go deep in the tournament. Suresh is new to the ATP circuit, but he has all the credentials to be a top player in the years to come if he can continue the hard work he is putting in.
Meanwhile, after beating Lajal, Suresh lost to World No. 124 Eliot Spizzirri, but showed a lot of fight in the game. He lost 6-7, 4-6, but was broken just once in two sets, which is very commendable for someone as raw as Suresh. The Indian star also smashed more aces than Eliot – 8.
Suresh had earlier revealed that he relies a lot on his big serve.
“My strengths are serving aces and playing the forehand. I am a tall player and I used it (serve) to my advantage. While playing at the elite level, you need to narrow down on your mistakes which I couldn’t as I committed several unforced errors,” Suresh had said after defeat in Winston-Salem Open, as quoted by TOI.