Vishnu Vardhan thread...

All posts regarding specific player and player fans threads are in this forum

Moderator: Moderators

Post Reply
User avatar
suresh
Member
Member
Posts: 7879
Joined: Thu May 22, 2003 12:08 pm
Please enter the middle number: 1
Location: Chennai, IN

Vishnu Vardhan thread...

Post by suresh »

I have spoken to Vishnu and he has informally agreed to give me an interview (on behalf of SI, of course). So if you have any questions for him, please post them here. Vishnu arrives in Chennai on Thursday and I hope to meet him on Thur/Fri (my schedule permitting).


Suresh
Last edited by S_K_S on Wed Dec 26, 2007 11:53 am, edited 1 time in total.
gvhvhg
Member
Member
Posts: 4513
Joined: Mon Jan 06, 2003 5:39 pm
Please enter the middle number: 1
Location: NYC/Medford, MA

Re: Vishnu Vardhan thread...

Post by gvhvhg »

Nice work Suresh!

Well since we don't know much about him, I'd like to know how lofty his expectations are for the coming year and career? Does he hope to be one of India's best---battling it out for a top 200, 100 spot with the likes of Bopanna, Mankad, Rastogi, Amritraj---or does he just intend on playing 10K ITF events in India and Africa all his career? So I guess in order to find these things out with out asking directly one would have to ask questions about when he started playing tennis....what sort of work he puts in off the court...if he knows what opportunites are out there for him...and whether financial constraints are an issue in taking those opportunites, etc etc.
Last edited by S_K_S on Wed Dec 26, 2007 1:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
jaydeep
Moderators
Moderators
Posts: 23792
Joined: Wed Aug 18, 2004 8:59 am
Please enter the middle number: 1
Location: India

Re: Vishnu Vardhan thread...

Post by jaydeep »

Why this 'interview with Vishnu' comes under Divij's thread???

Great work Suresh ... As Ashish mentioned u can ask many basic questions for him; like asking about his training stints, his next few months schedule to improve his ranking, currently under whom he is working on his game, how he is handling his fanancial needs and also tell him about our forum (telling how our many forum members r trying their level best to support and ready to give helping hand to our players in diferent countries.) ... Also ask him if possible to check our forum and then post here like Harsh and Sunil.

Jaydeep.
Last edited by S_K_S on Wed Dec 26, 2007 1:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
S_K_S
Member
Member
Posts: 3465
Joined: Sun Jan 05, 2003 7:00 pm
Antispam: No
Please enter the middle number: 5
Location: Birmingham, UK

Vishnu Vardhan thread...

Post by S_K_S »

A thread for the new National Champion!  :notworthy:
User avatar
suresh
Member
Member
Posts: 7879
Joined: Thu May 22, 2003 12:08 pm
Please enter the middle number: 1
Location: Chennai, IN

Re: Vishnu Vardhan thread...

Post by suresh »

Vishnu has heard about our forum -- that is what he told me. Thanks Jaydeep for giving Vishnu a separate thread -- he has earned it.  I look forward to more questions -- the basic ones I can handle :-)
User avatar
BSharma
Authors
Authors
Posts: 12076
Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2003 8:51 pm
Please enter the middle number: 1
Location: USA

Re: Vishnu Vardhan thread...

Post by BSharma »

A big thanks to Suresh for taking the time and making the effort to interview Vishnu.  Give our hearty congratulations to him for winning the National Grass Court Championship and wish him all the luck at Chennai Open.

Asking Vishnu all the questions that others have mentioned in this thread would be good although I do want our sports heroes to share with us their lighter side - not the tabloid stuff. 

What are their hobbies?  What type of music do they like to hear?  Their favorite food - on the Tour and at home?  Their favorite tennis player?  Who have played important roles in their lives (besides the parents)?  What got them interested in tennis?  At what age did they believe that professional tennis would become their career?  An interesting anecdote from all their travels?  The interesting/frustrating part of being a professional tennis player?
User avatar
jayakris
Moderators
Moderators
Posts: 34757
Joined: Mon Dec 16, 2002 7:24 am
Antispam: No
Please enter the middle number: 5
Location: Irvine, CA, USA
Has thanked: 10 times
Been thanked: 1 time
Contact:

Re: Vishnu Vardhan thread...

Post by jayakris »

Sandeep just pulled out an old discussion he and I had about Vishnu and posted it in the grasscourt championship thread (I am a longtime quiet supporter of Vishnu, and had even emailed AITA once asking about him) ... I was semi-critical of Vishnu for missing some events at that time and losing a chance for getting into the news etc - though I didn't know his reasons .. Sometimes injuries etc make a player miss events and we don't know .. Anyway, very glad to see him do well .. Hope he goes from strength to strength from here on out.

Jay
Last edited by jayakris on Wed Dec 26, 2007 3:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
suresh
Member
Member
Posts: 7879
Joined: Thu May 22, 2003 12:08 pm
Please enter the middle number: 1
Location: Chennai, IN

Re: Vishnu Vardhan thread...

Post by suresh »

I met Vishnu earlier today and had a long chat with him. Really good kid, head screwed right and I had  a good time. I promise to upload a transcript of my interview over the next couple of days. Bumped into Sunil -- he and Vishnu had scheduled a practice session. Sunil told me that he had just come in from Nigeria and was tired but ready for a hit. Tomorrow is the signing in for qualies and the matches will be played on 29th and 30th. I hope Sunil and Harsh get a good draw in qualifying.

Vishnu promises to join our forum soon :-)

Suresh
User avatar
jaydeep
Moderators
Moderators
Posts: 23792
Joined: Wed Aug 18, 2004 8:59 am
Please enter the middle number: 1
Location: India

Re: Vishnu Vardhan thread...

Post by jaydeep »

Suresh, u r increasing our interest ... :) So please upload transcript of interview ASAP (ofcourse when u find time from ur schedule) ... But I know this would be fun to read.

Jaydeep.
User avatar
amr090
Authors
Authors
Posts: 4371
Joined: Fri Jan 03, 2003 10:31 pm
Please enter the middle number: 1
Location: Baltimore, MD

Re: Vishnu Vardhan thread...

Post by amr090 »

suresh, excellent work and great initiative on your part. eagerly looking forward to the interviewwith vishnu.
User avatar
suresh
Member
Member
Posts: 7879
Joined: Thu May 22, 2003 12:08 pm
Please enter the middle number: 1
Location: Chennai, IN

Re: Vishnu Vardhan thread...

Post by suresh »

Sorry folks. It is taking me time to transcribe the interview -- I am done with 10 minutes and 15 minutes remain. I hope to be done by tomorrow.

Suresh
User avatar
suresh
Member
Member
Posts: 7879
Joined: Thu May 22, 2003 12:08 pm
Please enter the middle number: 1
Location: Chennai, IN

Re: Vishnu Vardhan thread...

Post by suresh »

Meanwhile, I will add some interesting comments about his fellow players. He said that he practiced with Harsh in Kolkata and thought that Harsh would win the Nationals as he was playing wonderful serve and volley tennis. He also told me that talking to Harsh was extremely useful (and helpful) to him and that he thought of him as  a true professional!

Re. playing doubles with Vinod Sridhar. He said that Vinod asked him to play doubles with him six or seven months ago. As Vishnu put it, he was a lousy doubles player even though he has the game for it and couldn't believe that Vinod wanted to play with him. He says that Vinod has helped him improve his doubles game and that he now sometimes feels that he is better than Vinod  :wink:
User avatar
suresh
Member
Member
Posts: 7879
Joined: Thu May 22, 2003 12:08 pm
Please enter the middle number: 1
Location: Chennai, IN

Re: Vishnu Vardhan thread...

Post by suresh »

My interview has been transcribed -- however I am unable to post it here because it exceeds the allowed limit of 20000 characters. Can one of the moderators help me post it?

Suresh
User avatar
BSharma
Authors
Authors
Posts: 12076
Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2003 8:51 pm
Please enter the middle number: 1
Location: USA

Re: Vishnu Vardhan thread...

Post by BSharma »

Suresh,

I am eager to read your interview and I am sure that other members are in the same boat as me.  Can you divide the interview into two segments and post them as two separate parts and later Dhruv could put them as one?  Thanks for your effort.
User avatar
suresh
Member
Member
Posts: 7879
Joined: Thu May 22, 2003 12:08 pm
Please enter the middle number: 1
Location: Chennai, IN

Vishnu Vardhan interview (part I of II)

Post by suresh »

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  December 27, 2007 at the SDAT Tennis Stadium, Nungambakkam, Chennai
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SI: On behalf of the members of Sports India, I  welcome Vishnu Vardhan, the new National Grass Court Champion. Your recent win caught the attention of our members and the first question raised by some was "Who is Vishnu Vardhan?" Of course, some of knew who you were. That will be the theme of the first part (of the interview) before we move on to your tennis career. So first off, can you tell us a little bit about yourself.

VV: I started (playing) tennis in the year 1996. It started off because I was heavy, sort of overweight, so I started off for my health and I was pretty talented and started winning under -10 and under-12's in the state and I didn't think it was such a big deal but I went step by step and I am here right now.

SI: What school did you study in?

VV: I studied in DAV Public School in Safilguda beside my house. The school was really helpful to me like during my 9th and 10th (grade), the teachers were so encouraging. Usually it is only the PT(Physical Training) director supports me but the normal school teachers also helped like when I used to miss classes or exams they used to take special classes for me and call me home and ensured that I got my formal education. That also played an important role.

SI: When did you realise that you could choose tennis as your career? What time/age? When was that?

VV:  Not really, maybe when I finished my twelfth. Actually I had taken science as my major (in school) to pursue engineering but when I finished my twelfth it was like (this) -- my coach and my dad had a discussion and came to the conclusion that "let him take arts and try out tennis". So that was the time ...

SI: So in principle, are you registered in any college now?

VV: Yes, Wesley Degree College and am doing my final year right now.

SI: Who was your first coach?

VV: My first coach is my present coach as well. I have never changed coaches and I can be proud of it  -- so many players like have changed or moved on but I am proud to say that I have stuck to my  coach C.V. Nagaraj. His academy is  the School of Power Tennis. So I have stuck to him for the last ten years.

SI: Who is your favorite tennis player?

VV: Tennis player? there are so many but in India it is Leander Paes.

SI: Worldwide?

VV: Worldwide? it will be Pete Sampras for sure, then it is Leander Paes. Though I haven't seen them much, but all my junior days when I was 13-14, I grew up watching Rohan Bopanna, Vijay Kannan, Vinod Sridhar, Mustafa Ghouse -- you know they were playing the Sriram Mens (SI: for less money in those days) -- yeah right, they were playing the Open and I was playing the 14's and losing the qualies. I used to stay back and watch the men's and watch the matches over there and try serves like Rohan Bopanna -- so I grew up watching them.

SI: Who is your favorite sportsperson (need not be from tennis)?

VV: Sportsperson?  You could call Mohammed Ali (SI: the boxer?) the boxer.

SI: But he is well before your time?

VV: Yes, well before my time but I have watched his videos/matches. They also have the legends on the History channel -- I watched it and it is Mohammed Ali.

SI: So let us now move on to your tennis career. Let us start with your junior career. You had good wins over good players like Divij Sharan (Adidas Masters 2002), your remember that?(VV: (smiling)I do remember that), you beat Rupesh Roy I believe (VV: Yeah, yeah), Aditya Madkekar -- these were all the upcoming talents -- the poster boys of junior tennis.  Tell us about that period in your career.

VV: My junior career was very good like my coach who made me play very few tournaments and focused on my training which has really helped me now. The pace is really good, we used to be selective about the tournaments -- maybe three nationals and four AITA tournaments in a season -- I think that really helped.

SI: I don't think your junior ranking was very high.

VV: Not at all.  I played only one ITF grade 3 juniors and made it to the finals.

SI: That gave you a ranking of around 400+.

VV: I played only one tournament because my coach said that you don't have money to play the juniors and neither due you get  any money for juniors. Get into men's. I was only 16+ when I won the junior Nationals in Hyderabad and then I entered the men's (circuit) and the first day I was losing in the qualies.

SI: We'll get to that soon. Here is a comment from a forumite in February 2005 -- this guy is has been good at predicting (the success of) people. He is Hyderabadi like you and me, (VV: Mr. Jayakrishnan) No no, it is not JK. HIs name is Sandeep and he has predicted (the success of) Sania and Saina and of course, Rayudu in cricke. He said this about you -- "Believe me, Vishnu has ability. I don't know where he suddenly disappeared. His serve is unbelievable by Indian standards and he volleys pretty well." At another point he said that you will reach the top 100 -- that ws in 2005. " But you kind of disappeared, very disappointing for us, (VV: Yeah, yeah)  even though you had a year left in your junior career. Some of us feel that, maybe, you should have played a year of juniors -- you know these people grow up and be your opponents(in the seniors). Look with India, Divij Sharan, Rupesh Roy, now they are your opponents in the men's. So you would have seen the same guys abroad -- so the feeling is that you should have played more in juniors. What do you think?

VV:  Yeah. But it was a tough decision and it was a decision taken by my coach. Today I am happy I have not played the juniors. At the age of 16 I stopped playing juniors and started playing in the men's. For the first two years I was losing in the qualifiers. I could have played in the juniors but one thing, I did not find any sponsors because you need money to play the junior tournaments.

SI: But at that time, AITA was coming up with support. They had a good guy, Sunil Yajaman, do you know him? This guy know his tennis. (VV: Yeah, yeah). If you had reached a certain level, you would have been picked up for (sponsored) tours for sure.

VV: For sure, I would have been picked up. But the decision was my coach's. But at the end of the day, look at Divij Sharan, Rupesh Roy, Vivek Shokeen

SI: Well, Rupesh also went, in a sense, in your way by going to the Bosse foundation. He stayed away for a while but he did make it to the top 50 in juniors.

VV: Yes, even though he was given very less time, he made it to the top.

SI: Do you think you got enough support from AITA in those days?

VV: In those day, not really but now it is much wider open, you know.

SI: Talking about your foray in men's tennis. In 2004, at the age of 17, you were trying out the Futures and Satellite circuits as a pro. You were the runner-up for the "Most Success, Least Reward" Award from SteveG's website. You played 25 matching and won 12 but did not earn a single ATP point. Remember that?

VV: I do remember that and I remember the  award as well.

SI: Tell us what happened to you. It is not as if you were losing every match. The winner of the award played the same amount of matches but won 13, a Spanish guy I think. So what went through your mind.

VV: I was so depressed. I lost 10 futures in a row -- I was running into good players. You know, I was serving for the match against Vinod Sridhar and lost the match. There was some kind of mental block (SI: If you win that match you get your 1 ATP point) yeah, that one point was so much important for me at that time and I got this award, my coach got this letter for me and he said that I got an award and I was so happy. In one way, this award was encouraging to me and in one of my diaries, this letter is still stuck. (SI: that people actually follow you) yeah.
Post Reply