The 19-year-old from Ahmedabad, is steadily establishing himself as one of the most exciting names to watch from the Indian junior circuit.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Sixth-seeded Shah\u2019s singles campaign ended with a 6-3, 6-0 loss to Crawford on Friday \u2013 his fourth consecutive to the Englishman. Reflecting on the result, he opined, \u201cI\u2019m not able to get through him. I don\u2019t know for what reason. It\u2019s not that if I\u2019ve lost to a particular player, I cannot beat him again, that's not the case. Because in the past, I have done that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He dismissed fatigue as a factor, saying, \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say I was fatigued. If I am an athlete, I should be able to handle all this stuff.\u201d Analysing Crawford\u2019s game, he added, \u201cI feel like I\u2019m not able to judge his game style and he likes to play against mine. He\u2019s very confident while playing against me. I think whatever I hit comes into his zone, his hitting arc. So, he\u2019s just stable and comfortable when he plays against me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Despite the early exit in Bengaluru, Shah entered the tournament riding high on confidence, having recently stopped Jay Clarke\u2019s 14-match winning streak to win the ITF M25 Ahmedabad Open, his second pro singles title and first at the M25 level. The result also earned him entry into the ATP Next Gen Accelerator programme, which guarantees him main draw spots in eight ATP Challenger events in the 50 and 75 categories.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Looking ahead, Shah remains focused but realistic. \u201cI haven\u2019t been into the calendar that much. It\u2019s just my coach and me with my dad sitting, because I have to keep the financials in mind. I\u2019m not sponsored, so I can\u2019t just book my flight tickets and enter tournaments freely. I must consider everything; the finances, physicality and how well prepared I am.\u201d For now, he\u2019s planning to compete in a Challenger event in Ivory Coast later this month.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cIf I am brutally honest, I am highly ambitious,\u201d he admitted. \u201cI just have one single goal by the end of the year, that is like 250-300 (rank) would be great.\u201d On what it will take to get there, he said, \u201cPhysicality-wise, I need to get stronger, faster, more agile. Tennis-wise, I need my game to be bigger and more consistent. My graph has been up and down.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Looking ahead, Shah remains focused but realistic. \u201cI haven\u2019t been into the calendar that much. It\u2019s just my coach and me with my dad sitting, because I have to keep the financials in mind. I\u2019m not sponsored, so I can\u2019t just book my flight tickets and enter tournaments freely. I must consider everything; the finances, physicality and how well prepared I am.\u201d For now, he\u2019s planning to compete in a Challenger event in Ivory Coast later this month.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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