Indians in Paris: idol pursuits and trials on court

To their pleasant surprise, he responded positively, even agreeing to to pose for separate pictures with the two.

‘‘We thought it best not to talk, but his gesture was simply sportsmanslike. You cannot stop admiring him,’’ an elated Somdev told The Indian Express over the phone from France.

It’s not unusual, Karan chipped in, saying the general trend on the circuit was for juniors to ‘‘get absorbed’’ in such a system, but regrets not meeting his idol Pete Sampras.

Delhi’s Sanaa Bhambri also seemed equally excited at seeing the likes of Andre Agassi and Lleyton Hewitt practising and sharing the locker room with the Williams — Venus and Serena.

‘‘I didn’t speak to anyone, but just seeing them pratice or just standing near you was something,’’says Sanaa, playing her first Grand Slam.

Sania, having played on the circuit and in a few Slams over the last couple of years is less overawed by the big names and simply acknowledges: ‘‘I did see them (stars), but I know they don’t talk much and keep to themselves.’’

One factor that however ‘touched’ the four junior Indians was their local heroes Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi coming over, watching their matches and even giving them a pep talk.

However, hings weren’t that rosy on court. The red Parisian clay proved too slow for the Indian team, for whom the adjusting took longer than expected.

Acknowledging this fact Somdev (the only one to win of them to win a set), said — and Sania and Sanaa agreed: ‘‘The clay in India is much faster and adjusting here (Paris) needed more powerplay. We need to be physically fitter and have a lot more patience.’’

Sania Mirza, number 14 seed, was disappointed by her performance this time over last year but shrugged off her loss to an unseeded opponent. ‘‘It happens, winning and losing are just part of the game. I would have preferred to clear a couple of rounds, but I guess it just happens.’’

Playing his second Slam, Somdev said when he walked out on the court he was blank and realised that he was standing on a court which he had always dreamt about and thus just had one thing to do: play.

But one person who seemed excited despite her loss was the ‘baby’ of them all — Sanaa and her reasons were simple: ‘‘I have three more years in juniors so getting back and performing better is not a problem.’’