India’s Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha described his Grand Slam debut at this week’s Australian Open as an “amazing experience”, despite a first-round loss in the men’s doubles event on Tuesday.
Poonacha and Thailand’s Pruchya Isaro, who won the Asia Pacific Wildcard Playoff to earn their spot in the main draw in Melbourne, went down in two tiebreaks to Spanish duo Pedro Martinez and Jaume Munar on Court 14 at Melbourne Park. The Indo-Thai pair lost 7-6, 7-6, winning 74 points compared to 77 by Martinez and Munar.
Poonacha, ranked No. 144 in the world in doubles, said the difference came down to a few key points, where the Spaniards managed to raise their level.
“I think both of us played really well, me and my partner and even the opponents, they played good tennis,” Poonacha told India Sports Hub in an exclusive interview. “What they did better was I think even at the crucial stages, I think they stepped it up. I think that was the only difference I could see. When it was needed and then in the crucial moments, they didn’t give us any free point. They did that better and they got the result.”
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Despite the defeat, Poonacha said his first Grand Slam experience was a memorable one.
“The experience was amazing just to be at the place of a Grand Slam to experience everything off-court and on-court. Quite a lot of people came to support me and I really enjoyed the time here. I was nervous before the match started a little bit but then I think once we got on the court, it was just another match. So that’s a good thing from my part.”
Poonacha and Isaro, who teamed up in August last year, will continue playing together at least until April. Their schedule includes three ATP Challenger tournaments in India in February.
“I’ll be playing with Pruchya Isaro for sure till April. We’re going to go and try our best and see how it goes and what can be done or how can we improve on everything,” Poonacha said. “I think the next tournament is going be Bahrain, Manama. That’s an ATP 125 Challenger and then I’ll be taking one week off to support India at the Davis Cup. And post that, I’ll be playing the three ATP Challengers in India – Chennai, New Delhi and Pune. And after that, most probably, I’ll be heading to Mexico.”
Poonacha, aged 30, said being around the top players at such a big event has given him greater clarity on areas he needs to improve, and he is confident of returning to the Grand Slam stage in the future.
“I think being here gives me more knowledge on how to work, how to be. Seeing other players, how they play, what they do on court, it gives me a little bit more clarity on how to go about things. I would love to be at the higher ATP events and I’m gonna try and make sure that I’ll be there.”
