Manas Dhamne, all of 15, made an impression with his fearless approach before being overpowered by Michael Mmoh in the men’s singles first round of the Tata Open Maharashtra on Monday.
Given a wild card entry into the premier tennis tournament, Dhamne got a taste of high-level tennis on the opening day of the ATP250 event, before exiting the tournament with a 2-6 4-6 defeat against the world number 115.
Up against a physically stronger and technically superior opponent, Dhamne gave a glimpse of what he could bring to the table as he grows up and matures.
He did not have the legs to win those intense rallies and lacked the power to trouble his rival consistently but showed a lot of heart for a fight and that vindicated his wild card entry.
“I was not expecting that (fight). He caught me by surprise. He has a bright future ahead,” said 24-year-old Mmoh while praising the teenager.
Dhame had the home fan interested in the fourth game of the opening set when he hit a stunning backhand passing winner and followed that up with a solid forehand which Mmoh netted to earn two break points. The American came out serving strong to hold and made it a one-way traffic after that.
Dhamne also used drop shots and backhand slices, showing the presence of mind but lacked execution at times. His intermittent winners prevented the match from being bland.
The American had an early break in the opening set and was soon close to finishing the contest but dropped his serve with a double fault and looked like feeling the heat, losing a few points in a row.
Mmoh though closed the match in the 10th game with a perfect body serve.
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