For someone who missed around 500 days of tennis due to ill health, Digvijay has truly rebuilt his tennis career in a fantastic way.
The defining moment in the three tournaments came when Digvijay was staring at a defeat 2-5 in the third set against top seed Aryan Shah in the semi-finals in Gwalior.
The recovery from that position against the twenty-year-old Aryan, who was strong in his play and movement, was poor. But Digvijay survived five match points and things opened up.
“It was the toughest match in three weeks,” said Digvijay, who trains at Roundglass and is coached by Aditya Sachdeva. “My experience over the past few weeks has kept me calm and helped me play the match without having to worry about the outcome. When you do that, you usually play your best.”
‘Then he [Aryan] I took one step back, I took two steps forward. Competition brings out the best. “This level of success is unprecedented in my career so far. I have never done well in two consecutive weeks, let alone three weeks,” Digvijay points out.
Show courage
Equally important was the way he battled his friend Freek Van Donselaar of the Netherlands in the first round in Bhopal, after losing the final in two tiebreaks to SD Prajwal Dev in Bhubaneswar last week.
“I was one set down and close to a breakdown against my friend, but I told myself I wasn’t done yet,” said Digvijay. “I was ready to fight and enjoyed the match. It was perhaps that mentality that allowed me to do well for three weeks. It was also a signal that my hard work was paying off.”
He wasn’t happy about losing the final to Prajwal Dev, but Digvijay was understandably proud of improving on that performance over the next two weeks. Three years ago, Digvijay was inconsolable after losing the Fenesta National Championship final to Niki Poonacha three years ago. The following year he lost the final to Manish Sureshkumar.
“Losing to Niki in the national final hurt me a lot as I had three match points,” Digvijay recalls. “It was hard to digest, but that was a breakthrough for me at the time. Later, I did well and won the title at the ITF event in Delhi.”
“I have played tough matches against Niki. It is not pleasant to play against him, but I have a lot of respect for him. I am happy that he has qualified for the Australian Open [doubles]. I am confident that one day I would also play the Grand Slams,” he added.
Digvijay is willing to work harder and do whatever it takes to grow in the international circuit.
“After what I went through in 2023 after the Davis Cup, I missed tennis every day. Now I have the hunger to play and enjoy the challenge. When I face difficult situations during a match, it’s like solving a puzzle. I enjoy it. The emphasis is on continuing to do my best and seeing how things work out.”
Turn it around
To put things in perspective, Digvijay had a 14-1 win-loss record over three weeks in singles. Before the three tournaments, he was 13-16 for the season. He lost in the first round of the first five tournaments after returning to tennis.
“I have known Digvijay for a long time. He was with us when he reached his best rank. It was not a problem for me when he sought help,” said coach Aditya.
Digvijay’s health problem was absolutely crushing. “I was close to organ failure. Going to the washroom was a task. I needed my father’s help for that. It was that bad. When I finally recovered and trained hard, the coach felt I deserved the support and that I should be sent to tournaments abroad when there were no tournaments at home,” Digvijay recalls.
At one point, Digvijay told Aditya that he would quit playing and take up coaching. The coach assured that he still had a long and wonderful playing career ahead of him. Digvijay then traveled to South Africa, Congo, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Angola, Chinese Taipei and Thailand, for the final three tournaments at home in India.
“I am grateful for my current position. I am blessed to have the best people around me. Adi sir kept telling me not to worry about the results and keep playing the matches to the best of my ability. As if all the previous problems were not enough, I also had to stay away from tournaments for a month due to an elbow injury after the first few events,” said Digvijay.
“I am happy with how Digvijay has played these three weeks,” Sachdeva said. “I know he has a big game. He is getting firmer now. Physically he still has a long way to go to be ready for the Challengers grind. But the next few weeks will be a training block for him. We have French trainer Gerald Cordemy here. Digvijay and Karan Singh will work with him.”
Aditya is a tough task master and understands the nuances of competing at a high level in tennis. “Sport at a higher level is about your strength and fitness, both physically and mentally. It is less about skills. You must maintain a high standard and never slow down.”
“We knew him [Digvijay] needed a certain number of matches. He had trained hard and prepared well. It was time to give that exposure and get him the games at all costs. There were disappointing losses. But we didn’t go back. We let him travel regardless of the results. His self-confidence and performance increased as he knew people were caring for him,” Sachdeva opined.
Besides the old coach and Roundglass, Digvijay has also been remarkably well looked after by Javier Sansierra and Luis Zapata in Madrid, Spain from a very young age. It was during an exchange program with the Chandigarh Lawn Tennis Association (CLTA) that Digvijay first visited Madrid, which brought him European exposure.
“Javier is in contact with me every day,” Digvijay said. “Along with him, Luis Zapata as a coach was very passionate about making me better. I had great confidence in them from a young age and they shaped me as a player and person.
“They did a lot for me. My parents spent money on me, but Javier and Luis made sure I always got the best deal. My parents were my backbone and these guys understood me when I was struggling to perform,” Digvijay added.
Javier had visited Chandigarh as part of the officiating group for the Davis Cup match against New Zealand. From then on, Digvijay’s bond has grown stronger.
“I benefited a lot from my Spanish period,” he stated. “I had poor technique, poor movement, was very erratic and never liked to play more than two shots in a rally. I was impatient and wanted to get the points quickly.”
“They never tried to change my basic strength, the aggressive attitude. They worked a lot on my game to make it solid. In ten years they completely changed me, as a player and as a person.”
Looking at the road ahead, Digvijay said he would work hard and improve in every aspect of his game.
“The goal for this year was to play well, be in better competitive shape and be physically stronger. I will need more strength and power to compete well in the Challengers. I need to improve my defense. The game has become so physical. So I have a lot of things to work on.”
“But with time, everything will be ready. I have a desire to keep improving. If we work hard and put in the effort, the results will come,” Digvijay signed off.
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