SHRIVALLI RASHMIKAA BHAMIDIPATY GAINS A FINE EXPERIENCE IN PARIS

Shrivalli Rashmikaa Bhamidipaty missed the girls wild card for the French Open junior tennis championship, in a three-nation competition at the Rolland Garros, but had an unforgettable experience of competing on the Grand Slam courts in Paris, and met some of the top players including Serena Williams and Simona Halep.

The Indian champion of the Rendezvous Roland Garros junior competition in Delhi, Shrivalli beat the Chinese girl Cao Xue 6-3, 6-2 but was beaten by the Brazilian girl, Anna Paula Melilo 7-6(4), 6-2, in the three-player competition, played on a league basis.

The Brazilian girl won the wild card as she won both her matches.

‘’I led 5-4 in the first set against the Brazilian. I could not make it to the main draw, but it was a great experience’’, said Shrivalli.

Unlike the earlier times when the event used to be played near the Eiffel Tower, the courts at the Roland Garros were given for the junior wild card competition this time.

‘’It was great to play at the Roland Garros. We played on court No.6. We were also allowed to use the gym and the Locker Room’’, said the 16-year-old Shrivalli, quite delighted with the experience.

‘’I also met Halep, Serena and others. I was lucky to have a photo with Serena’’, said Shrivalli, who is coached by Sajid Lodi.

Siddhant Banthia, who already has a rich experience of the Grand Slams, having competed in Wimbledon, US Open and the Australian Open, also missed out on the French Open as he too won one match against the Chinese and lost one in the league to the eventual champion from Brazil.

Even though he is ranked No.71 in the world, unlike Shrivalli who has a rank of 300, Banthia, coached by Aditya Madkekar, was not sure of his entry in Wimbledon, as the points from the Asian junior title that he won last year would drop off before the cut-off date.

Both Banthia and Shrivalli are scheduled to compete in the ITF grade-2 tournament in Poland. Banthia hoped that he would fare well to ensure at least a qualifying entry for Junior Wimbledon.

Quite interestingly, last year, Banthia had opted out of the French Open wild card event after having secured his ticket from India, and Abhimanyu Vannem Reddy who hurried to Paris as a replacement, won the event and gained the French Open experience.