DALLAS – Adam Neff admits that the first moment was a bit intimidating.
The SMU men's tennis player was excited about the opportunity to compete in the Dallas Open, but the thought of walking onto the court and facing an athlete who's professional career was almost equal to his own age was a bit daunting.
But that's what Neff got when he drew Thomas Fabbiano (192nd in ATP rankings), an Italian player who turned pro in 2005. By comparison, Neff was born in 2002.
Against a top 200 opponent, Neff "got rid of a lot of the nerves" in a tough loss.
That set the stage for his second match.
Teaming with SMU grad transfer Ivan Thamma, the duo stood toe-to-toe with Americans Sam Querrey (79th) and Jackson Withrow (82nd), two of the top 100 doubles players in the world, falling 7-6, 4-6 (10-5).
"It was incredibly encouraging because we came so close to beating two great players, but also hurts a bit because of how close we were," Neff said recalling the experience. "I am a big believer in everything happens for a reason, and that experience will only help me and Ivan going forward for the future."
With Dallas and SMU playing host to the only ATP Tour indoor championship held in the United States, several Mustangs got the opportunity to take part in the event. All four SMU student-athletes faced off with featured players ranked inside the world's top 200 in singles or doubles.
In addition to his tough doubles loss with Thamma, Neff lost his singles match with Fabbiano, 6-1, 6-4. Sophomore Liam Krall put up a strong effort against Austrian Jurij Rodionov (153rd), 7-6, 6-3. Senior Caleb Chakravarthi got the opportunity to play in a featured match during the evening set with Canadian Vasek Pospisil (143rd), falling 6-1, 6-0.
While the match was tough, the overall experience is one Chakravarthi came to relish.
"Watching a few of the matches and practicing with the guys has motivated me to try and achieve greatness in tennis. Being with these pros you see how small the margins are and the differences between a college tennis player and a pro," Chakravarthi said. "There are not many differences – the only thing is that they do the small things really well and have incredible self-belief in themselves when they are playing. It definitely has motivated me to be the best tennis player I can and has motivated me to play professional tennis after my time at SMU."
That same sentiment echoed through the SMU players who had the opportunity to step onto the court.
Breaking and winning a set against an internationally ranked doubles team gave Thamma a lot of inspiration he plans to carry with him the rest of the way.
"I think that it was important to come out with the belief that we can play at this level and it clearly showed," Thamma said. "It helps a lot with confidence, especially moving forward for the rest of the season. It is super motivating because you can see the level is right there."
