Poruri with Seles in 1986In a world where teen queens blitz their elders out of court with power play that gets quicker every year, 19-year-old Laxmi Poruri is an anachronism.The Indian-born, Stanford University undergraduate who dominated the 14-and-under US tennis scene in the late '80s, is now ready to roll again. The woman who once scalped Monica Seles, one year her junior and currently ranked number one, and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in the finals of the US Junior Open in 1988, thinks she has it in her to be among the best on the tennis circuit."I'd love to be in the top 10 in the world some day," says the 5ft 7in, 130-pound Poruri, who is currently number three among the nation's women college tennis players. "But right now, I'm going to continue playing the best I can and enjoy the game." She's enjoying more than that. Living on the campus, driving around in a maroon Honda Accord that bears the vanity licence plate Relaxmi, going dancing or seeing movies-"doing regular teen stuff" - Poruri has come of age.The pressure from her parents - who wanted their only daughter to be both a tennis star and, like them, have a career in medicine - has eased. And Poruri, who suffered a burnout in 1988 - but still made it to the top 50 in the 1989 Women's Tennis Association rankings - is back with her blistering forehand and a great attitude. As she sits in the living room of her parents' sprawling one-storey home in the Southern California city of Claremont, after a short practice session with her coach, Jerry White, in 90 degrees heat, her brown eyes are alight and her smile is radiant.showing her trophies: second comingRevitalised by her freshman year at Stanford University - which has produced tennis legend John McEnroe, his brother Patrick, US big hitter David Wheaton and the gritty fighter Patty Fendick - Poruri is looking to win again.In the two years she's spent at the University, the school's tennis coach of 13 years, Frank Brennan, has helped her move up from number five spot on the tennis team to number two at present. She holds a 21-1 singles record in the National Collegiate Athletic Association this year and her exquisite shot-making skills translate to success in doubles as well.Brennan believes it is Poruri's "good court sense, a tremendous amount of talent and a good baseline game" that has brought her to where she is today. But Poruri is not aggressive enough on the court, he notes. If she becomes a 'risk-taker', he feels she could definitely be among the top 50 players in the world today. Considering that no Indian woman has made it to Wimbledon till now, that would be a major achievement.Though the Guntur-born, Telugu-speaking Poruri is now an American citizen, she hopes to represent India at the Olympics some day. Depending on her showing in the next few months in the satellite tennis circuit, if luck favours her., she might well turn professional within a year, she says, even though that would mean putting her academic career on hold.Among her heroes, she lists her mother Rukmini, an anaestheologist, and Bugs Bunny for being 'survivors'. But it was her father, Seetharamarao, who was forced to give up his medical practice a year ago after developing heart trouble, who first put a tennis racket in her hand when she was just five years of age.For the shy, introvert girl, the tennis courts were the only place "I could loosen up, be myself, feel secure." Sometime around the age of 11, she found herself beating her brother and almost anyone else who challenged her. "I started getting better and winning tournaments," Poruri says. "I think my strongest asset was my ability to stay focused and mentally tough." She will need more of this mental aggression if she wants to make it even bigger.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Dec 31, 2012 14:46 IST--- ENDS ---
