“Phenomenal” — that is how Dhakshineswar Suresh is being described as by India’s tennis icons, after the 6-feet-5-inch tall 25-year-old walked into the collective consciousness of tennis aficionados, having guided the country to victory in the Davis Cup Qualifiers Round 1 tie against the higher-ranked the Netherlands in Bengaluru on Sunday.

Dhakshineswar himself has said that his dream run for the country is “just the beginning” as he prepares to step into the ATP Tour after graduation in May this year from Wake Forest University in the US, where he is studying with a tennis scholarship.

The Madurai lad won all three of his matches in the tie, a feat last achieved by Leander Paes against New Zealand 22 years back.

“He is phenomenal. I saw all the matches and I think he was so impressive the way he lasted all through the tie,” Leander told The Telegraph.

“Specially emotionally, going through the highs and lows. The physical effort is one thing, but the way he pulled it all together, his mental strength, was just fantastic.”

Asked if he saw a bit of himself in the youngster, Leander gushed: “I think he is better. He definitely has a bigger serve than I did. Infact, I think he has a better serve than any Indian ever. He is a beast, he is huge.”

Given his physique, would he be more injury-prone? India’s Davis Cup world record holder did not think so. “He looks to be in excellent shape. If he looks after himself, then there should be no issues. His whole game is very very promising.”

Former Davis Cupper and national coach Jaidip Mukerjea iterated Leander’s praise of Dhakshineswar’s serve.

“Out of all Indians I have seen so far, he has the biggest serve. Right through the three matches, he never lost a service game. That’s very impressive,” Mukerjea, who was courtside during the match in Bengaluru, said. “He goes to the same college in the US as John Isner (former world No.8 American) went to. He has a similar structure. Very tall.

“He played outstanding tennis in the singles, specially in the first match. He served and volleyed and came in. The courts and the weather in Bengaluru suited him a lot. All said and done, he is a find for India. Now it’s upto the AITA to look after him.

“He needs proper nurturing. He is very tall and lanky and has skinny legs. He still needs to work a lot on his groundstrokes. He needs to develop well.

“He has not played on the ATP Tour yet since college tennis does not allow that. But he is graduating this year and the AITA should give him all the support he needs.”

India will next face South Korea. “It would be a tough match,” he said.

In just two ties since making his debut in September 2025, Dhakshineswar boasts an impressive 4-0 record, having won the lone singles he played against Switzerland last September.

“It’s a long way to go. It’s just the beginning,” he said on Sunday.

“It’s a different feeling when you’re playing for your country. You’re not just playing for yourself, you’re playing for the whole nation. I played some different tennis in these matches and I’m really proud of that,” he said.

Suresh’s heroics impressed Netherlands captain Paul Haarhuis. “He’s definitely not ranked (No. 457) where he should be ranked, when he plays like this. I’m not sure if he’s playing enough tournaments. I think he will definitely improve his ranking very fast as soon as he turns pro,” he said. With PTI inputs