London: Indian-American Ronit Karki may not have cleared the final hurdle in the Wimbledon junior boys event on Sunday, but the 17-year-old has done enough these last two weeks working his way through the qualifying draw and making the title round -to show that he’s a talent to watch out for.Karki went down 2-6, 3-6 to world No.6 Ivan Ivanov, the 16year-old from of Bulgaria, in the boy’s final. Earlier in his run to the final, Karki, ranked 52, took down No.9 Yannik Alexandrescou of Romania, No. 8 Jack Kennedy of the United States, No.14 Alan Wazny of Poland, and No. 12 Alexander Vasilev of Bulgaria. Karki played the J300 at Roehampton two weeks ago, making the third round, when competing for the first time on grass.The New Jersey-born teen, who trains in Florida, was just one out of the main draw, but said he wouldn’t change a thing about playing the qualifiers. “Everything is connected, so maybe playing the qualifying draw was a good thing, and maybe the reason why I’m here right now,” he said.Karki, whose family home is in East Brunswick, New Jersey, took to tennis because his father Trilok started playing the sport when he lived in New York with his wife Kanchan. “My sister (Naomi) started playing tennis too, then I just picked it up because my sister and my dad played it,” Karki said, “My dad is the reason I play tennis.”
