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 began playing Grand Slam junior events this year, in his final season in the category, and 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 boys’ 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 both of their previous meetings, including their most recent clash at the J300 Roehampton in June.Yuki Bhambri, who won the junior Australian Open in 2009, reached the US Open quarterfinals that same year and remains the last Indian before Paparkar to reach a junior Grand Slam quarter-final. Tabata, who had beaten Paparkar twice before, including once after the Indian had led 5-2 in the deciding set and held five match points, was not at his best physically. As the match wore on, he struggled with his serve and eventually stopped extending himself in his court coverage.“That match was in my head. I was like, I cannot lose like that again. I’m much better now mentally, a lot calmer… I tell myself, it’s ok, it’s just a tennis match,” a beaming Paparkar said.Paparkar was aware of the Japanese player’s physical struggles.“I realised that he was struggling with his serve, but also sometimes players feel better in the course of a match, so I just was focussed on what I could do in the match,” he added.Paparkar produced another impressive serving display, 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 improve his serve by tweaking 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 that now as it would prevent injuries,” he said. “It has given me a better rhythm and that has led to more consistency.”
