Dhakshineswar’s journey: driven by a big serve, via the US college route
Dhakshineswar Suresh marked his Davis Cup debut with an upset win for India against Switzerland, showcasing his powerful serve and aggressive game style.
Mumbai: Dhakshineswar Suresh sealed his Davis Cup debut win for India against Switzerland last week with an ace. An ace was also how he would seal Wake Forest University’s 2025 NCAA Division I men’s team championship in May.
That big serve from the 6’5” frame, to go with an aggressive game that complemented the indoor hard courts of Biel, was the key to India captain Rohit Rajpal bumping him up to be the team’s first roll of the dice as the sixth-highest ranked singles player. It was also key to the 626th-ranked debutant delivering a stunning upset of the 155th-ranked Jerome Kym, which gave India a 1-0 headstart and laid the foundation for their rare away Davis Cup win in Europe.
“I try to play my gamestyle as much as possible,” Dhakshineswar, 25, told HT from the North Carolina city of Winston-Salem, where he is based.
That gamestyle wasn’t always centred around the big serve – a weapon not many Indian singles players, former or current, can boast of.
Training in Chennai, the Madurai-born junior wasn’t as tall at 17-18 but had the potential “because of my genes”. That potential was also spotted by his coach Rajeev Vijayakumar and mentor Somdev Devvarman at the Aspire Tennis Academy.
“All these people told me that for my height, I need to have a different gamestyle. I need to play big. I can’t just rally and grind,” said Dhakshineswar.
The youngster began looking up at players with similar gamestyles – the likes of Nick Kyrgios and John Isner – and developing a more lethal first strike.
His progress was stalled for over a couple of years due to injury and the Covid pandemic. Without too many avenues to play and financial support to bank on, Dhakshineswar was advised by Devvarman, who transitioned to a top 100 pro from excelling at the American collegiate circuit, to also take that route.
“Somdev made me understand how college tennis works,” Dhakshineswar said. “It gives you a solid base, amazing coaches and facilities, you get to play tournaments, and you also get an education. You can never complain about that, right?”
The Wake Forest University student certainly wasn’t complaining about honing his tennis skills in the mornings and evenings, while attending classes for communication studies in between. Individual and team training sessions, and a string of tournaments week in week out not only helped sharpen his weapon and game but also fitness over the past three years.
“Doing a million reps of my strengths helps me deliver it under pressure,” said the big-server who closed out two of his most important matches this year with aces.
Dhakshineswar works with a team of coaches that includes Devvarman’s former coach Tony Bresky and former singles world No.52 Brian Baker, who’ve both guided several pros from the college system. He also trains with teammates who all aspire to get there.
“There’s not enough players in India to practice with. Here, apart from the coaches, you also practice with players who have the same goal – go pro. It helps to be surrounded by people driven by the same mindset,” said Dhakshineswar.
Graduating in May 2026, the 25-year-old still hasn’t got the full taste of the pro tour. In the little that he has this year so far, the Indian reached one Challenger semi-final and two quarter-finals and made his ATP 250 debut in Winston-Salem beating opponents ranked 300 and 126 in the qualifiers in singles.
“All of that gave me plenty of confidence going into the Davis Cup,” he said.
And so, in the company of Indian teammates as a trump card debutant in Biel, Dhakshineswar did not feel too out of place.
“I’ve known what it is like to be in a team environment for the last three years,” he said. “I understood that and kept my nerves.”
