Manas Dhamne thread

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

Moderator: Moderators

User avatar
knarayen
Member
Member
Posts: 1201
Joined: Tue Sep 02, 2003 1:29 am

Re: Manas Dhamne thread

Post by knarayen »

sameerph wrote: Sat Jan 22, 2022 2:06 am
knarayen wrote: Fri Jan 21, 2022 5:46 pm
jaydeep wrote: Sat Jan 15, 2022 5:43 pm Really exciting week for Manas for winning J2 title in a young age.
Do we have any physical stats on Manas - height mainly - this is going to be crucial. Exciting to see a new talent emerge
Do not have his exact details but from the photos from his last week title win he appears quite tall for a 14 year old.

https://www.theindiapost.com/sports-2/m ... es-titles/
This one looks promising. I’m eagerly awaiting good news as we watch his progression. :-)
sameerph
Moderators
Moderators
Posts: 32889
Joined: Mon Feb 28, 2005 4:26 pm
Antispam: No
Please enter the middle number: 5
Location: MUMBAI
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 15 times

Re: Manas Dhamne thread

Post by sameerph »

Manas is having tough baptism on European clay circuit. He has played 6 J1 and J2 tournaments in Europe since mid March alternating between his training at Piatti Tennis centre but he has lost in first round in 4 of the 6 tournaments and only reached QF in J2 in Italy in March. All losses against mostly top 100 level players and all 2-3 years older than him but still lot of losses. Hope he is learning something and gets to winning at this level soon.
sameerph
Moderators
Moderators
Posts: 32889
Joined: Mon Feb 28, 2005 4:26 pm
Antispam: No
Please enter the middle number: 5
Location: MUMBAI
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 15 times

Re: Manas Dhamne thread

Post by sameerph »

Manas is making his pro tour debut today as he has got wild card into qualies draw at Francavilla Challenger. Looks like premature for a 14 year old to play challenger qualifiers when he is struggling to win matches at higher level of junior tour but that is what these European academies do to players, make them play a couple of levels above theirs. Lets see if this strategy works for Manas.

Manas plays 725th ranked Italian in Q1 today. Not expecting anything but at least will get to watch him on live stream.
User avatar
jayakris
Moderators
Moderators
Posts: 34948
Joined: Mon Dec 16, 2002 7:24 am
Antispam: No
Please enter the middle number: 5
Location: Irvine, CA, USA
Has thanked: 18 times
Been thanked: 5 times
Contact:

Re: Manas Dhamne thread

Post by jayakris »

Just leaving some comments in reply to a comment by Prof in another thread
knarayen wrote: Wed Aug 17, 2022 10:34 am You’re sounding the alarm bells, and funnily I’m seeing lots of kids in the 11-14 age group playing in the US and also in India. What happened to Dhamne, he looked so promising?
Manas is just fine, as far as I can see. He has been in Italy for over an year now. He is still only 15. Didn't look too good in the first three futures qualies that he played in Monastir, Tunisia last month (still got an upset over an ITF top-600 player, which is impressive for a 15 year old). He has had a tough time in the tour the last few months, which I assume is due to his Italian coaches adjusting his game. Hopefully for the better, but as always, I don't trust these academies a whole lot -- so I will hold judgment on that. I have not sensed anything bad about the Piatti Center though, unlike a few other "academies" out there. So let us hope for the best.

Continuing with an update on what Sameer had said just above, he got a challenger wildcard in Italy (which shows you how highly they think of him) and looked amazingly good on a few points. Take a look at this video posted by Indian Tennis Daily, compiling some of his best points. Of course, he lost the match 36 06... But can you believe that it is a 14 year old hitting those shots, against a top-500 quality ATP player? The drop shot after a 27 shot rally that starts from 0.26 is something to see! But I think he is having trouble sustaining that level of play consistently through a match. That is all expected at his age.

At least the Italians are letting him play the juniors, unlike the crap the Spaniards pulled with RamK. Hope to see him go through a lot of matches at various levels in the next three years.
User avatar
jayakris
Moderators
Moderators
Posts: 34948
Joined: Mon Dec 16, 2002 7:24 am
Antispam: No
Please enter the middle number: 5
Location: Irvine, CA, USA
Has thanked: 18 times
Been thanked: 5 times
Contact:

Re: Manas Dhamne thread

Post by jayakris »

Manas is at the J1 in Pancevo, Serbia, this week. But he is drawn to play the top seed in the first round. Playing Juan Carlos Prado Angelo (BOL,44) in the first round. We will see where Manas stands in the juniors. Will be tough. Manas has a couple of junior top-125 wins this year, including over Aayush Bhat (who is Indian and came from India but has US citizenship), but he had 2 or 3 top-100 losses about 3 months ago. I am curious to see how he does against this Bolivian guy who was as high as #30 earlier this year.
User avatar
PKBasu
Member
Member
Posts: 36870
Joined: Fri Jan 03, 2003 6:04 pm
Please enter the middle number: 1
Location: New Delhi / Kolkata
Been thanked: 8 times

Re: Manas Dhamne thread

Post by PKBasu »

I think he should be playing some J2 and J3 tournaments to return to the winning habit, then move back to J1s. Playing the top seed first up is always tougher than encountering him in a later round (after a few wins under the belt). Of course I will be happiest if he pulls off the upset right away (in which case my advice will be rendered redundant :) ).
User avatar
jayakris
Moderators
Moderators
Posts: 34948
Joined: Mon Dec 16, 2002 7:24 am
Antispam: No
Please enter the middle number: 5
Location: Irvine, CA, USA
Has thanked: 18 times
Been thanked: 5 times
Contact:

Re: Manas Dhamne thread

Post by jayakris »

I agree with you totally, PKB. But if he upsets the top seed, then we will both eat crow happily!
User avatar
jayakris
Moderators
Moderators
Posts: 34948
Joined: Mon Dec 16, 2002 7:24 am
Antispam: No
Please enter the middle number: 5
Location: Irvine, CA, USA
Has thanked: 18 times
Been thanked: 5 times
Contact:

Re: Manas Dhamne thread

Post by jayakris »

Manas lost, 06 46 today against the top seed Juan Carlos Prado Angelo (BOL,44). So, yeah, he is not that ready for the top-100 levels of ITF just yet. Should go down to to J2 and J3 levels.
User avatar
jayakris
Moderators
Moderators
Posts: 34948
Joined: Mon Dec 16, 2002 7:24 am
Antispam: No
Please enter the middle number: 5
Location: Irvine, CA, USA
Has thanked: 18 times
Been thanked: 5 times
Contact:

Re: Manas Dhamne thread

Post by jayakris »

Not a good week for Manas again. He was at the J2 in Novi Sad (Serbia). He beat Mateja Gojkovic (SRB,2167) 63 61 in the first round but lost badly against the 5th seed Matic Kriznik (SLO,100) by a 36 16 score. That scoreline does not look good, even if a loss was expected. But Manas and Paulo Hugo Etchecoin (BRA) upset the 4th seeds and are in the doubles SFs.

By the way, the guy who beat Manas in the R1 in last week's Serbian J1 did go on to win the title. The guy who beat him this week was an unseeded semifinalist last week too. So, these are some talented players that Manas is getting to play.
sameerph
Moderators
Moderators
Posts: 32889
Joined: Mon Feb 28, 2005 4:26 pm
Antispam: No
Please enter the middle number: 5
Location: MUMBAI
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 15 times

Re: Manas Dhamne thread

Post by sameerph »

Yes, these are Europeans/South American who have played a lot more at this level than Manas. Still expected somewhat better scoreline.

Manas may probably need to come to Asia or go to Africa to play some easier tournaments to get some winning confidence back. Maybe will come down for Asian juniors which is his home city Pune in 3 weeks time.

But, with these European acadamy one never knows. Generally they believe their trainees will be better if they play against much higher level players even if the end result are losses.
User avatar
jayakris
Moderators
Moderators
Posts: 34948
Joined: Mon Dec 16, 2002 7:24 am
Antispam: No
Please enter the middle number: 5
Location: Irvine, CA, USA
Has thanked: 18 times
Been thanked: 5 times
Contact:

Re: Manas Dhamne thread

Post by jayakris »

sameerph wrote: Wed Aug 31, 2022 5:11 am But, with these European acadamy one never knows. Generally they believe their trainees will be better if they play against much higher level players even if the end result are losses.
Well said, and it is precisely what sometimes bothers me too... This is what all the academies seem to tell our kids. Play at the higher level against tough competition. Don't bother playing against all those "lowly kids" in Indian and Asian/African events. "You learn only by playing against the best" and all that. It is all fine and dandy, and even makes some sense, but where are the results? Has it helped even one Indian kid to go to the top-100 (or even top-200?).

The ones who have done it are still LP, MB, Sania, Somdev, RamK, Sumit, Nirupama, Ankita, Gunner, Prakash, Saketh, Harsh in the last 25 years... None of them took that route of playing only against the top players and crashing into the top levels like the Nadals and Alcarazes could. They all developed rather slowly over time by playing a lot against a lot of bad and good players. I think Indians need that period, to develop physically and get accurate with their game. Need a lot of matches against good and bad players in that process. 1 or 2 and out in top events is of no use. You need 40-50 matches each for 2 or 3 years in the juniors. RamK is the only one who survived through the European plan, but I believe he did well despite the academy advice, and only because of his own talent and perseverance against adversity. But that is just my view. What do I know?

I have said my uneducated above view many times, but why not repeat? :)
User avatar
knarayen
Member
Member
Posts: 1201
Joined: Tue Sep 02, 2003 1:29 am

Re: Manas Dhamne thread

Post by knarayen »

I think short stints at these academies is ok - to check progress against the competition, to calibrate current training methods against what you have been doing locally in india. Playing and training against the best works for them, not for us Indians. Homegrown skills developed locally instills pride, and you remain an unknown quantity to the outsiders. Indian players can use this to generate and maintain “difference anxiety” among foreign players. Anand, Vijay, Ashok, Ramesh, Chandra (Lees first coach) and I knew about this. The less the foreign player knows about your playing style and capabilities, the better chance you have going into the match. Indian players handle reverse difference anxiety much better than foreign players.
vgan
Member
Member
Posts: 8
Joined: Wed Jun 22, 2022 6:19 pm
Antispam: No
Please enter the middle number: 5
Location: Amsterdam

Re: Manas Dhamne thread

Post by vgan »

jayakris wrote: Wed Aug 31, 2022 6:53 am
sameerph wrote: Wed Aug 31, 2022 5:11 am But, with these European acadamy one never knows. Generally they believe their trainees will be better if they play against much higher level players even if the end result are losses.
Well said, and it is precisely what sometimes bothers me too... This is what all the academies seem to tell our kids. Play at the higher level against tough competition. Don't bother playing against all those "lowly kids" in Indian and Asian/African events. "You learn only by playing against the best" and all that. It is all fine and dandy, and even makes some sense, but where are the results? Has it helped even one Indian kid to go to the top-100 (or even top-200?).

The ones who have done it are still LP, MB, Sania, Somdev, RamK, Sumit, Nirupama, Ankita, Gunner, Prakash, Saketh, Harsh in the last 25 years... None of them took that route of playing only against the top players and crashing into the top levels like the Nadals and Alcarazes could. They all developed rather slowly over time by playing a lot against a lot of bad and good players. I think Indians need that period, to develop physically and get accurate with their game. Need a lot of matches against good and bad players in that process. 1 or 2 and out in top events is of no use. You need 40-50 matches each for 2 or 3 years in the juniors. RamK is the only one who survived through the European plan, but I believe he did well despite the academy advice, and only because of his own talent and perseverance against adversity. But that is just my view. What do I know?

I have said my uneducated above view many times, but why not repeat? :)
Respectfully disagree. Seeing from the close quarters on the grind that my son is going through for last 5 years, I personally believe playing against top ranked players really help. I am resonably sure, there are other tournaments that Manas or any other similar player plays that keeps up their confidence and academies do their best on that (again, my opinion). Playing against these players push you to improve or perish. Nadal and Alcaraz are rarest of rare players (all time greats) and can't be compared. I strongly believe in next 5 to 10 years, we will have many Top 100 players from India.
User avatar
jayakris
Moderators
Moderators
Posts: 34948
Joined: Mon Dec 16, 2002 7:24 am
Antispam: No
Please enter the middle number: 5
Location: Irvine, CA, USA
Has thanked: 18 times
Been thanked: 5 times
Contact:

Re: Manas Dhamne thread

Post by jayakris »

^^^ Yes, of course, playing against top players really help, and it must be done. My complaint is that playing against others also needs to be done. That often does not happen. Number of competitive matches you play are also important. One needs to try to get accurate at what you are good at (the higher percentage parts of your game) along with trying the high-reward but lower-chance shots that one need to take chances on, against the higher ranked players to win points. There is a balancing act there, where the easy matches also help. I mean you don't need to hit that inside out forehand to the right line, to win against the lower players so you can try it and if it doesn't work, you can still win - and you get better at it over time. The case in point in this is actually Sania. She lost a fair amount in the juniors against some no-names too, because she would come out hitting the ball to smithereens and getting better at it.

So anyway, there is no argument at all about playing the higher-ranked players. One should enter the higher ranked tournaments for that. Just mix in a few other events to get 20 odd matches a year where you simply get good at beating players, and working on your shots - that is all I was asking.

But what do I know? I don't even play any tennis :)

May I ask, who your son is? By the way, welcome to the forum!!
vgan
Member
Member
Posts: 8
Joined: Wed Jun 22, 2022 6:19 pm
Antispam: No
Please enter the middle number: 5
Location: Amsterdam

Re: Manas Dhamne thread

Post by vgan »

jayakris wrote: Thu Sep 15, 2022 7:20 am ^^^ Yes, of course, playing against top players really help, and it must be done. My complaint is that playing against others also needs to be done. That often does not happen. Number of competitive matches you play are also important. One needs to try to get accurate at what you are good at (the higher percentage parts of your game) along with trying the high-reward but lower-chance shots that one need to take chances on, against the higher ranked players to win points. There is a balancing act there, where the easy matches also help. I mean you don't need to hit that inside out forehand to the right line, to win against the lower players so you can try it and if it doesn't work, you can still win - and you get better at it over time. The case in point in this is actually Sania. She lost a fair amount in the juniors against some no-names too, because she would come out hitting the ball to smithereens and getting better at it.

So anyway, there is no argument at all about playing the higher-ranked players. One should enter the higher ranked tournaments for that. Just mix in a few other events to get 20 odd matches a year where you simply get good at beating players, and working on your shots - that is all I was asking.

But what do I know? I don't even play any tennis :)

May I ask, who your son is? By the way, welcome to the forum!!
Yes, i agree. But mostly academies take care of those other matches . Of course, I am generalizing here.

Thanks for the welcome and my son's name is Pranav Karthik
Post Reply