The Hindu : Sport : Srichaphan overwhelms Nicolas Devilder

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Friday, Jan 07, 2005

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Sport

Srichaphan overwhelms Nicolas Devilder

By Vijay Parthasarathy

SALUTING THE CROWD: Paradorn Srichaphan acknowledges the cheers with a traditional namaste after his win over Nicolas Devilder in the Chennai Open. — Photo: Vino John

CHENNAI, JAN. 6. Paradorn Srichaphan seemed more a Thai boxer than a tennis player today, landing a few uppercuts and the occasional jab before turning the lights off, with customary good humour, for a rather overwhelmed Nicolas Devilder.

The 6-3, 6-2 win comes, admittedly, against a qualifier but it should do his confidence some good; particularly after the scare he had against Christophe Rochus in the first round.

Devilder was an unknown journeyman when he beat an out-of-sorts Goran Ivanisevic, as a qualifier, at the Monte Carlo Masters last year. That was, in fact, his first ATP match of 2003; Devilder lost his next match and was restricted to the Challenger circuit for the remaining portion of the season. The left-handed Frenchman is ranked 23rd among his own countrymen: not a particularly flattering statistic, come to think of it, for a Tour player.

Srichaphan has a powerful forehand, but his net play is a definite weakness. On the other hand, Devilder's only genuinely potent weapon is a slightly exaggerated backhand slice action, which makes the ball dip at the net like a leaky water-balloon. Interestingly, the Thai number one has, in the past, struggled to cope with that particular shot and better players have exploited that weakness. But his opponent today simply didn't have the resources to cope with the violent flurry of powerful groundstrokes.

The second-seed served nine aces and held serve easily throughout the match. The Frenchman, on the contrary, was broken thrice. Paradorn did hit a few forehands wide, but he wasn't too worried about that.

"Sometimes you tend to relax when you're up a break, it's okay to attempt a few shots. You can afford the occasional miss, and there is no real need to cramp yourself," Srichaphan said.

The Asian star also has one of the most powerful one-handed backhands in the business — perhaps, not quite comparable to Federer's — but it certainly would suffice against the likes of Devilder. And although the latter had the bright idea to try and pass Paradorn down the flank, his inexperience clearly showed; more often than not, Devilder sprayed his attempted winners wide off the lines.

All this adds up to the reason why Devilders has made a little over $65,000 in career prize money and the Thai, well over two million.

Asian market

The ATP's efforts to market tennis in Asia have coincided with Srichaphan's ascent, and the Thai's success has certainly raised the game's profile this side of the Pacific.

Srichaphan was briefly ranked in the top ten sometime around May 2003, when he rose to the number nine position. That's seven places higher than Vijay Amritraj's career best, although the Indian, with his 16 ATP singles titles, easily tops Paradorn's five.

But that was as high as the Thai could get. Although Srichaphan had a decent run in a couple of Grand Slams, Srichaphan's ranking had slipped to 27 by the end of 2004.

Which is perhaps why, he decided to experiment with a new coach, and try and do things a little differently. For the past month-and-a-half, Srichaphan has been training with the American coach, T.J. Middleton.

New coach

"Working with a new coach is a new experience, brings in fresh opinions and modifications to technique," the Thai said. "My dad is still my coach. I've been with my dad for 10-15 years, since the time I was a junior. It was my dad, who got me to the top ten at one point, so there is nothing much to say about it. He is a great father, a great coach," Srichaphan emphasised.

Srichaphan's triumphs haven't really been duplicated by other Asians, although a couple have broken into the top 100. To some extent, that is because Srichaphan is as well-built and as powerful as many Europeans and Americans on the pro-tour.

Srichaphan, to put it succinctly, is quite a Rambo. But he's retained his Asian values, and is extremely popular in the locker rooms. The 25-year-old continues to live with his parents. "In Thai culture, if you have a new house, you better be getting married first. You don't just move out and stay alone," he once said in an interview.

Incidentally, Paradorn was in Thailand when the recent tsunami struck. "I was in Pattaya when the tsunami struck in Phuket. I didn't really feel the earthquake but obviously we were all pretty shocked at what happened."

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