A 12-year-old boy is climbing the ladders of Australian tennis, winning the national Under-12 championship lately.
Gautham Santhosh, who represents Queensland, has won the Under-12s Australian Grasscourt Championship held in Perth last week.
In the final, he defeated South Australian opponent Jonas Hahn in a clear margin of 6-2, 6-3.
"I felt really happy and proud of myself for all the hard work I have put in before this tournament", Gautham told SBS Malayalam.
There are no grass courts in Queensland and Gautham had no previous experience playing on the surface prior to this outing. But that didn’t stop him from going past all his opponents with confidence.
Source: Supplied
It felt much different because I never played on grass Gautham said.
“He was struggling in the beginning of the tournament,” Gautham’s father Santhosh Krishnankutty said.
“But as it progressed he played smart tennis. He adjusted to the situation well and in the final he was confident against the much taller opponent who was more experienced in grass courts.”
He was battling a leg injury also throughout the tournament.
“Before and after each game, Gautham had to seek the help of a physiotherapist”, said Mr. Krishnankutty.
Tossing for Federer
Gautham is the eldest son of Santhosh Krishnankutty and Bibibol Krishnan who hail from Kerala, India. Nurses by profession, the couple migrated to Australia in 2008 from the UK.
Gautham started playing tennis at the age of five, basically due to the interest of his father to the sport.
However when he started showing his talent by defeating older and experienced players, his parents managed to get him a coach.
Gautham started playing at the age of five Source: Supplied
He was training under the coaches Brett Plant and John Frawley in the early days and was later selected to the QLD National Academy Development Team.
Gavin Van Peperzeel and Anthony Richardson have been coaching Gautham in the Academy, sharpening his skills and fitness.
One of Gautham’s best moments in tennis so far, however, didn’t come from playing in the field.
“I was so lucky to get a chance to toss for Federer”, he said.
It was ahead of the 2018 Australian Open semi-final between Roger Federer and South Korea’s Chung Hyeon.
Gautham was playing the Super-10s nationals in Melbourne when invited by Tennis Australia to do the coin tossing.
But, Gautham rates the national championship more special than the tossing.
“I was so lucky to get a chance to toss for Federer”, he said.
"I never thought I could achieve this at this age, and that is why it is bit more special than tossing for Federer."
He has already risen to attention before that, reaching the top ranked spot nationally in his age group. Gautham is ranked 537 in the national men’s rankings too.
"My dream is to become a professional tennis player, and to play for Australia in the Davis Cup one day".
