INDIA146;S LATEST CHARTBUSTER

Somdev took a long route to the University of Virginia 8212; via Tripura and Chennai 8212; but settled in quickly enough. And, by the end of his stay, he ensured he wouldn8217;t be forgotten in a hurry 8212; for his tennis records, and for his Dave Matthews Band covers.

Around a year-and-a-half ago, there was a mad scramble in India for any bit of information about him. The then-22-year-old had just been drafted into the Indian Davis Cup side, and not much was known about the player who turned out for his college team in the US every week. But if this lack of awareness had been brought to the attention of any of his classmates, who made it a point to cheer during his musical performances or tennis victories, they would8217;ve been bewildered.

Somdev8217;s University of Virginia tennis coach Brian Boland found out about the extent of his popularity the hard way during a walk around campus. Boland was intent on talking tennis, but he just couldn8217;t get around to it. 8220;I felt like I was walking through the lawn with a rock star,8221; the coach said at the time. 8220;It was absolutely ridiculous. Every single person we saw, they knew him, and he knew them. I8217;ve never seen anything like it in my life.8221;

It was Boland who had picked out Somdev from the bunch of top-50 juniors, and perhaps played the biggest role in convincing him that college tennis would indeed benefit him. The move had its share of naysayers, but eventually, Somdev made a decision he8217;ll never regret. 8220;Personally, I had advised him not to go away to college. I could see he had great potential as a tennis player, and I was worried what playing for his college may do to him professionally,8221; says Sunil Yajaman, who trained Somdev during his short stint at the National Tennis Academy in Gurgaon. 8220;One might say that being around the top-200 at age 23 is not a great sign for a tennis player. But he8217;s improving so rapidly. By the end of next year, he could be in the top-100, and then the top-50.8221;

First brush
Somdev8217;s hometown in Tripura is not exactly a place known as the cradle of tennis, so the first time he handled a racquet was only after his family moved in 1993 to Chennai, and a stone8217;s throw away from some tennis courts. One afternoon, rummaging through a box in their garage, a young Somdev and his brother happened to chance upon a couple of tennis racquets. And the rest, as they say, is history.
He began playing at the Britannia Amritraj Tennis academy BAT in Chennai and on the junior Indian circuit before the move to the US came through. 8220;Education has always been very important for me. Even when I was a junior, I made sure I didn8217;t ignore my studies. When I went to Virginia and I saw the college, I felt I could fit right in. They have a great academic school and an excellent tennis programme,8221; says Somdev, who is a sociology major.

8220;It8217;s tough to tell if things wouldn8217;t have turned out the right way for me tennis-wise if I hadn8217;t moved. What I think the shift did for me was give me a fresh perspective. I got away from the routine of playing on the Indian circuit, and I think that was good for me. I learnt the importance of work ethic while I was in college. It was good for me to get out, get a university education, a better fitness programme and a social life.8221;

Somdev8217;s grinding style of play from the baseline has made his athleticism a talking point. And what makes maintaining this kind of fitness level easy for him is his love of working out. 8220;I don8217;t look upon it as a chore or something I have to do. I enjoy training; for me, it8217;s more like watching a movie. It8217;s fun.8221;
He has caught on to the demands of the professional tour quicker than expected. When he started out, he hardly had any points to boast of, and the qualifying rounds were his only ticket. But since June, he has made five tournament finals, winning four of them, and many victories have come at the expense of well-known travellers on the tour.

Cup future
Somdev8217;s Davis Cup debut last year got buried under an avalanche of paperwork as officials in New York weren8217;t sure he would meet visa norms en route to Uzbekistan. He got another chance this year 8212; three of them in fact, against Uzbekistan, Japan and Romania 8212; and though he8217;s yet to open his winning account, the signs are that he8217;s there to stay. In fact, team coach Nandan Bal declared Somdev 8220;the find of the Romania tie8221;. In a year where the Davis Cup plans had turned horribly ugly, Somdev, who sits on neither side of the Paes-Bhupathi divide, was just what the doctor ordered. By the time the Romania visit came along just months after his debut, the rookie was being mentioned as the 8220;key8221; to the tie.

The most important thing a player like Somdev could do, according to Bal, was get rid of India8217;s clay-court complex. 8220;Considering the way Somdev has been playing on clay, we shouldn8217;t be worried on playing on surfaces other than grass. The boy just needs a bit of experience,8221; Bal said.
Somdev8217;s most memorable part of the tie? 8220;Watching some world-class doubles from the bench was great,8221; he said. 8220;It was really amazing to see how experienced players like Lee and Mahesh play and rise to the expectations. It was definitely a huge learning experience.8221;

Life outside tennis
Among the things that Somdev wishes were different in his life in America was more opportunities to play cricket. Despite spending most of his time away from India, the craze for the country8217;s most popular sport hasn8217;t escaped him. 8220;I love cricket, and even soccer for that matter, but my friends here don8217;t know much about either. Whenever I suggest it to them, they say, 8216;Nah, let8217;s play basketball or American football8217;. What else can I do but join in,8221; he laughs.

Music also takes up a lot of whatever little free time Somdev gets, but he isn8217;t quite ready to show the world some of his original compositions. He even refuses to name his favourite Dave Matthews Band number. 8220;Whenever that question is put to me, around 25 songs pop into my head. How can I pick just one,8221; he grins.
But even though Somdev doesn8217;t think too highly of his own creative talent, he seems to have found an able coach for that as well. It just so happens that Boyd Tinsley, violinist and backup singer for the Dave Matthews Band, is also a Charlottesville resident and a great tennis fan. One evening Tinsley organised a music session with his team at the Indian8217;s house, and Somdev had no hesitation in saying it was the 8220;coolest thing he had ever done8221;.

Another question that plunges him into deep thought is a query about his favourite Harry Potter character. He thinks for a few seconds, almost makes up his mind in favour of the Weasley twins, but then settles on Hagrid. 8220;Sitting with a book is the easiest way for me to spend time between matches at tournaments. I just finished reading Lance Armstrong8217;s It8217;s Not About the Bike and next I8217;ll move on to his other book,8221; he says.
Somdev has miles to go and promises to keep before he hangs up his tennis racquet for good. Judging from his rapid rise this year, he might just do it all.