On the face of it 17-year-old Kunal Anand is an introvert, with chocolate-boy looks. But once he is on the tennis court a completely different side of him emerges. Standing sideways to the baseline he tosses the ball and jumps high to hit it with uncharacteristic venom much to the surprise of his opponents. His serve is perhaps what caught Japan’s Koki Matsunaga by surprise.

The Delhi boy earned his first Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) point at the ITF Men’s Futures tournament at the RK Khanna Tennis Stadium with his 6-4, 6-0 win over Matsunaga before losing to sixth seed Patrik Rosenholm in straight sets in the second round on Wednesday.

This ATP point may well prove to be a catalyst in the young lad’s career, as it gives him a place on the international tennis map.“I will have a world ranking now. It makes me about the 1,500th ranked player in the world. I feel good and proud about that,” said Kunal.

This success hasn’t come without its share of struggle. He has spend the last one year travelling the length and breadth of the country playing ITF tournaments. He also tried his luck in Pakistan where he won the doubles event, however, success in singles has eluded him.

New avenues

Academics too had to be put on the back burner. His father took the conscious decision of enrolling Kunal in an open school so he could focus on building his game. This win opens many doors that hitherto were closed.

“Now I am guaranteed entry at every futures tournament. I might also be seeded and can avoid tough matches in early rounds,” Kunal said. Sponsorships too could come along the way.

For now he is in a mood to celebrate. The victory was followed by huge celebrations. “I treated my friends to kababs,” said a happy Kunal. Family and friends called and congratulated him on this breakthrough. He now wants to travel abroad and prove his mettle.

Deepak Anand, his father recalls, “Kunal’s result in juniors were not up to the mark. He had difficulty closing matches. Then in his last U-14 national tournament he won the title. We were having second thoughts about his tennis career but that win changed things. We treated it as a sign of destiny.”

The moment to rejoice will pass soon as Kunal will head to Chennai for the men’s nationals. Tougher challenges lie ahead for the promising youngster but he has already proved a point.