By: Rich Fisher
Rohan Patkar got a late start on his tennis career, but "The Beast" has quickly learned how to attack his prey on the other side of the net.
Patkar is enjoying a solid spring at first singles for the South Brunswick High tennis team, carrying a 6-1 record into Wednesday’s match against J.P. Stevens. The junior’s record reflected that of the Vikings, whose only loss this year was 5-0 to East Brunswick last Wednesday.
The Vikes and Patkar responded by defeating St. Joe’s (4-1) last Friday and Edison (5-0) on Monday.
"He’s very intense," coach Nancy McDonald said of Patkar. "They call him The Beast, because he hits every ball as hard as he can. He is quite possessed with his power. He has a big, strong, hard serve."
Patkar shrugs off his nickname, but does admit he is far from a finesse player.
"They just call me that for fun," he said. "I pretty much play the whole court. I like to be aggressive a lot. I don’t do what most people do. Most people rally a lot and wait for the other guy to make a mistake. I try to be aggressive."
Being aggressive is the only way to make up for lost time, which is what Patkar is doing. After moving to Highland Park from India with his family when he was 13, he took the court for the first time.
"My friends just said I should try it, I picked up a tennis racket and I’ve been playing ever since," said Patkar, who went 13-3 for the Owls varsity at first and second singles as a freshman.
After moving to South Brunswick, he went 16-7 last season, playing most of the year at second singles before working his way to first.
This year, the No. 1 slot was Patkar’s to lose, which he had no intention of doing. During the summer he played in three USTA events, winning two and reaching the finals of the third.
"That gave me a lot of strategic moves," he said. "I saw a lot of people with different styles. It helped me with different matches."
Patkar also played at SBHS and Crossroads when the weather allowed, and utilized East Brunswick Racquet Club during the winter months.
"I wanted to work on my serve and make it good," he said. "I think I’m getting there."
No one on the Vikings could touch him during the preseason challenge matches, and things have not changed much since he started playing against other schools.
"He’s very into tennis, he stays late, he comes in early, he wants to play all the time," McDonald said. "He still needs to develop some more consistency, but he’s improved his game. He’s looking to be on top in the county.
"He’s got a weakness that is exploitable, but he’s certainly improved on that. And as he plays more matches he’ll get even better. He relies on his power forehand. His backhand tends to be more of a defensive weapon for him. Once he gets a little more offensive with the backhand, he’ll definitely be very difficult to beat."
Patkar’s goal of winning the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament will be challenged by several tough foes, including North Brunswick’s Gaurav Singh, who he will play on May 2 just prior to the tournament, and East Brunswick’s Ross Cohn, who beat him at second singles last year and at first singles last week.
"I wish I could have beaten (Cohn)," Patkar said. "According to everybody who knows how I play, I was really playing bad. I was erring a lot on simple shots to the net. I just have to work on that. I’m going to have to practice really hard every day, even on weekends and stuff."
Patkar is also seeking a berth in the state tournament, which he can achieve with a 60 percent winning percentage by the cutoff. What makes his efforts even more impressive is that Patkar has yet to take a lesson.
"I just started playing every single day," Patkar said. "My dad wants me to take lessons, so I will probably do that over the summer."
Until then, he will use that beastly raw talent to get as far as possible.
BACKHANDS: Entering Wednesday’s match, the Vikes needed one victory to qualify for the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV tournament . . . Second and third singles Arjun Sapra and Najeb Hussain each won twice against St. Joe’s and Edison, as did first doubles Steve Yu-Abe Alexander. Shuang Yang-Guha Balakrishna won at second doubles vs. Edison.

