“You Don’t Get These Opportunities Every Day” – Ronit Karki Reflects on Career-Best Win in Junior Grand Slam Debut
In his Junior Grand Slam debut, Ronit Karki delivered the biggest win of his career with a composed and gritty performance against Manas Dhamne. Despite a nervous and shaky start, Karki showed resilience and mental strength to fight back from a double-break deficit in the first set, gradually finding his rhythm and confidence.
His serve proved to be the turning point, especially in the second set where he remained unbroken.
Karki credited his improved mindset and belief in his game as key factors in his development, while also acknowledging Dhamne’s well-rounded skillset. Confident and grounded, Karki emphasized the importance of backing himself, particularly on a stage as big as a Grand Slam.
Q) Junior Grand Slam debut and biggest win of your career. Thoughts?
Karki – I am just happy with the way I played because you have some good days and bad days. And today was one of the better days for sure. I didn’t start that way though. I started off tight, not playing my best tennis. I embraced that pretty well, I just understood that it’s a Grand Slam and it’s my first experience. I just hung in there, trying to figure out the match strategy and figure out how I’m going to try to win this match.
I got a hold on the board at 0-2, which kind of helped me loosen up a bit. I did go down 4-1 in the 1st set, double break. But I did a good job of hanging around there and not giving up mentally. I just really wanted to fight it out since you don’t get these opportunities everyday. So I just came in with that mindset and it paid off.
Q) What was the game plan coming in? Did you watch any videos of Manas playing?
Karki – No I didn’t but I probably should have. I knew he had some experience playing pro players, so I am not just going to outhit him. I knew he was a good player, so he was not going to give me free points. So I had to battle my way through some games and come up with some impressive shots when it was necessary. I just had confidence in my game and played how I like to play my matches. I think I did a good job of playing how I wanted to play.
Q) What do you think tilted the match in your favor?
Karki – The serve. I thought I was serving well in the qualifying. I started out not serving very well, was a bit nervous. Just kind of overwhelmed a little bit by the crowd, which is normal. But once I was able to play a few tough points and games, it helped me loosen up. Then I just stayed in the moment and started serving how I was serving in qualies. I mixed it up, hit my spots – and got a lot of free points. That was the main difference since I didn’t get broken in the 2nd set.
Q) You played in a different venue for qualifying. Did you feel any difference playing today in the main venue?
Karki – It wasn’t too much of an adjustment. They are both very good quality red clay courts, with new balls every few games. So it was a pretty smooth transition. We are both qualifiers so we were both in good match rhythm, feeling confident going into the main draw.
Q) You played last year in Europe but had more doubles success. But you had a good win over a Swiss player in Milan. What changed?
Karki – Mentally is probably the biggest. Last year I didn’t have as much confidence in my game. If you put other top juniors on a pedestal, you are already giving them an edge before you even play. We’re not all pros yet, so there’s no reason I should think somebody will beat me. I have to give myself the best shot – if I win I win, and if I lose I lose.
Q) Thoughts on Manas’ game
Karki – He has a very well-rounded game. We were having some really good backhand rallies. We stayed patient. He doesn’t take unnecessary risks, so that was a good part of his game. He’s got pop and top spin on the ball. He also comes in when he needs to. So he can do pretty much everything. He’s got a solid game.
