Abhimanyu Vannemreddy won the Rendez-Vous a Roland Garros final against Japan’s Hikaru Shiraishi 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 on Saturday to clinch a wild card spot in the Junior Boys event at the French Open this year. This is also the first time that an Indian junior had won the Rendez-Vous event since the event was launched in India in 2015.

Even as the seventeen-year-old Vannemreddy took a comfortable one-set lead in the final, his Japanese opponent looked to be braving the heat as much his rival. However, due credit to his fellow 17-year-old, he didn’t give up in the match even after having been forced to take a medical time-out. Shiraishi pulled out all stops in the second set, despite being down a break to wrestle back the set away from Vannemreddy after breaking his serve in the 10th game of the set.

The final set though swayed the Indian’s way through and through as he gained a double break to widen his lead emphatically. Although Shiraishi managed to win a game in the end, it was far too late to prevent Vannemreddy from securing the win.

First of many more successes to come

In an interaction with the media after his momentous win, Vannemreddy said, “It’s just beginning. I hope I keep winning matches. It is my first time in Europe and it has happened. It means a lot. There is a road ahead and I will give my best.”

Vannemreddy’s achievement also made his coaches Vivek Satyajit and Vishal Uppal proud. Speaking about his protégé’s win, Satyajit, who has accompanied Vannemreddy to Paris, mentioned, “Abhi kept his calm. The way the Japanese fought, it can unruffled the player in the deciding set. But he stuck to his game plan, kept concentration.”

Meanwhile, former Indian Davis Cup skipper Uppal shared, “I am proud of him. Our collective hard work has silenced all the critics, who feel that we can’t make in India. This is a big step in right direction for Indian tennis.”

Earlier, Vannemreddy had quite an exciting road to the final that included him replacing the injured Siddhanth Bhantia, who had defeated him in the final of the regional qualifiers earlier.