Ahmedabad: Gujarat’s Dev Javia, India’s No. 1 under-18 tennis player, took a giant leap when he became the first Gujarat boy to make it to the main draw of the French Open boy’s singles at the Roland Garros in Paris on Friday.

 

In his second league match on Friday, the 18-year-old rallied to beat Mexico’s Emiliano Agilera Guerrero 2-6, 6-3, 10-8 in the super tie-break to enter the main draw.

 

After losing the first set 2-6, the youngster fought back to win the second set 6-3. In a thrilling super tie break he prevailed 10-8.

On Thursday, Javia had started his campaign with a tough 0-6, 6-1, 10-4 victory against Brazil’s Nicolas Marcondes Zanellato in the first league encounter.

“Dev has become the first male player from Gujarat to play at the Roland Garros. I am very happy that a Gujarat boy has won the wildcard event. His playing in a Grand Slam will inspire many more in the future,’’ said Dev’s coach Shrimal Bhatt from Paris.

“It was a slow court which initially favoured Dev’s opponent. Also Dev lost focus in the first set and went down 2-6. In the beginning, Dev’s opponent played a slow game with long rallies,’’ said Bhatt, who is also the secretary of the Gujarat State Tennis Association. “It feels pretty good to be in the main draw here. I’m happy I got through the match even though I was struggling with the conditions and my game,’’ said an excited Dev after the match.

Prior to his departure for Paris from Ahmedabad, Dev had said that it would be a dream come true for him playing at the Roland Garros. He has made one big stride. Doing well in the tournament will be a big boost to his promising career.