Away from the court after the chair umpire has announced game, set and match a tennis professional has on hand a different kind of battle. Living out of suitcase while hopping continents players try to find ways to deal with the high and, more importantly, the lows on the highly competitive circuit.From finding solace in music to surfing the net or flipping television channels — like their different on-court persona — players have varied ways of unwinding. But, eventually as Thai superstar Paradon Srichapan puts it, the common goal remains the same: ‘‘To keep the dream alive.’’With loneliness and boredom being the main obstacles on this arduous dream path, German star Rainer Scheuttler has found a high-tech solution. His constant companion on tour is his laptop and that helps him keep in touch with his friends and family. ‘‘It’s the only way in which I share my thoughts with them. Anytime, anywhere,’’ he says.The next best thing is music, which Scheuttler believes ‘‘soothes his mind.’’ Any particular type of music? The expected answer from the big-serving extrovert is heavy metal or, maybe, techno but Scheuttler comes with a surprise. ‘‘tantric,’’ he says in a profound tone.But the 6 feet 4 inches Kristof Vliegen, like his ‘bits and pieces’ game, is more predictable in his taste. Considering his various interests it is tough to imagine that he gets time to concentrate on tennis too. Music, Play Station 2 and an urge to soak in the cultures he comes across on the way. Sting, U2 and John Gray give him vocal support and the Belgian is conversant in English, French and Flemish. His linguistic adventure is evident when he puts up a question: ‘‘What the Tamil word for ‘welcome’?’’ he asks.Chile’s Adrian Garcia and Belgium’s Tom van Houldt strike a common chord when it comes to music. Their way of relaxing after a hard day on court is playing the guitar. ‘‘The tour at times gets lonely,” says Garcis as gives his blue guitar a big hug. ‘‘I have made a lot many friends because of this,’’ he adds. Garcia is also in the habit of picking up local notes but in Chennai it has been tough, ‘‘the music here (in Chennai) is too different.’’Spaniard Carlos Moya is a video game freak with Play Station always at an arm’s length. His other passion, like many others on his circuit, is music and there are some who say that Moya spends more time with his ‘CD player’ than his practice partner.Leander Paes’ partner Nenand Zimonjic keeps it simple. ‘‘I just flip sports channels,’’ he says. Nothing else? ‘‘Bungee jumping is something I want to do but that is when I retire,’’ he smiles.
