Arnav Paparkar took the quieter route. He climbed the ladder one step at a time, starting with lower-level international tournaments in India before moving through the Asian circuit and eventually into the higher levels. The 18-year-old started playing junior Grand Slam events this year, in his final season in the category, and has improved with each tournament. On Wednesday, that steady rise reached a landmark moment as Paparkar became the first Indian in 36 years to reach the Wimbledon men’s singles quarter-finals, since. Leander Paes lifted the title in 1990.The 6ft 1 inch Indian, ranked No.19 in the junior rankings, dispatched Japan’s Ryo Tabata 6-2, 6-1 in 52 minutes to book his place in the quarter-finals, where he will face American qualifier Jordan Lee. Paparkar will be looking to turn the tide against Lee, having lost their previous two encounters, including their most recent encounter at the J300 Roehampton in June.Yuki Bhambri, who won the junior Australian Open in 2009, reached the quarterfinals of the US Open that same year and remains the last Indian before Paparkar to reach a junior Grand Slam quarterfinal. Tabata, who had beaten Paparkar twice earlier, including once after the Indian had led 5-2 in the deciding set and held five match points, was not at his physical best. As the match progressed, he struggled with his serve and eventually stopped stretching in his court coverage.“This match was in my head. I was like, I can’t lose like that again. I’m much better now mentally, much calmer… I’m telling myself, it’s okay, it’s just a tennis match,” said a beaming Paparkar.Paparkar was aware of the Japanese player’s physical struggles.“I understood that he was struggling with his serve, but sometimes players feel better in the course of a match, so I just focused on what I could do in the match,” he added.Paparkar produced another impressive service performance, firing eight aces and winning 23 of 25 points on his first serve. His fastest delivery of the day came at 208 km/h in the second set, while the average speed of his first serves was 196 km/h.The Indian has two training bases, at home in Pune, where he works with Hemant Bendre, and at the Soto Academy in Spain, where he trains under Nigel Beavers. Paparkar credits Bendre with helping him improve his serve by adjusting his action.“If you see now my swing is slower and fuller, my coach told me in April that it was better to work on it now because it prevents injuries,” he said. “It gave me a better pace and that led to more consistency.”
