And the Boy he beat...

Akash Wagh the 16 year old from Pune stunned Tursunov a bit. Akash, a mild surprise for Tursunov

(SHIVANI NAIK MUMBAI, SEPTEMBER 27 for Indian Express) GAURAV Sir knew a postmortem could wait until later on Wednesday.

"We'll talk tomorrow," Natekar told his ward when young AkashWagh sought him out after a creditable 2-6, 5-7 defeat to Dmitry Tursunov, a top 25 Russian who had a few days ago broken Andy Roddick's resolve and several American hearts.

Wagh, still leagues away from top-grade Davis Cup tennis - in fact playing his first ever seniors match at the Kingfisher Open Mumbai ATP - was quick to describe his hour-long tennis tete-a-tete with the bigger Russian. "I should've been well-positioned for my forehands ...should've held serve at 5-5 in the second set, I shouldn't have made so many mistakes."

A surprise choice for the third wildcard at Mumbai, informed observers believed it would be mayhem when Wagh met Tursunov. Silencing all speculation, the 16year-old trainee of the Mahesh Bhupathi Academy, picked his first point in a men's competition with an ace, and held serve for the first time in the third game of the first set after he was broken in the opener. Two more aces for a game, before Tursunov wrapped up the set 6-2. They traded breaks in the next, Wagh attacking Tursunov's inert backhand, Tursunov serving his way out of trouble, when the Indian held two break-points.

An inconsistent forehand meant the youngster couldn't quite capitalise, but Wagh jaunted along with a steady serve, picking 7 aces in the match, as against the Russian's six, to stay level at 5-5. Tursunov, troubled a wee bit by the humidity and a change in surface from clay to hard court, managed to break thereafter, and went on to win the match comfortably, but not before commending Wagh on a serve, which the Russian believes can be developed into a weapon.

"He can hit a lot of good shots, but is fairly inconsistent right now," he said.Mentor Mahesh Bhupathi was satisfied. "He (Wagh) obviously an exciting talent. But most importantly, it was his lack of fear that was a standout. I wouldn't have been disappointed if he had lost 0-6, 1-6; I just wanted to give him the feel of the pressure that he will be up against two years from now. But looks like it won't take him two years," he claimed.