Very rarely does one find a pair of siblings playing the same sport. However, one good thing is it guarantees a trophy in the family, one way or another.
There’s always something special about blood-bond pairs or trios when they compete with or against each other under the spotlight. Be it on a tennis court or in Grand Slams around the globe.
The world has been lucky enough to witness a series of athletic legends such as the William sisters, Serena and Venus, John and Patrick McEnroe in the 1980s and not forgetting the Amritraj brothers, Vijay and Anand to name a few of the many who have made their mark in the global sport.
Never lagging behind, Goa now has two pairs of siblings who participated in the Gadre Gaspar Dias Open 2023 State-level tennis tournament.
Proving that age is just a number, 10-year-old Isaac and 11-year-old Noah Carvalho from Verna in South Goa were debutants in this tennis tournament. Both Noah and Isaac look up to Rafael Nadal as their tennis icon.
Off the court, Noah aspires to be an Indian Foreign Service officer, while Isaac wants to become a civil engineer, but their passion for tennis is the common thread that both of them are dedicated to.
Dodging all excuses, both brothers train together under one coach and if no one is available on a given day, they train with each other.
Sporting true sibling behavior, both the boys are on the same page about the fact that it is annoying to be paired with a sibling in tennis.
“It is annoying because he doesn't listen,” complained Noah, while Isaac claimed that it is “very annoying as I don't like taking instructions from my older brother”.
“Yes, we do fight and get annoyed but we don't really hold on any grudge,” Noah says. “I do get pangs of jealousy, but we go back to being siblings (off court),” adds Isaac.
The second pair of siblings that participated in the tennis tournament are a whole lot older than the little boys. The Shevdes brothers, Tejas who is 25 years of age and his older brother Nishad, who is 28, are residents of Margao. Both the brothers played in the established State-level tennis tournament.
Tejas Shevdes, former winner of the Gadre Gaspar Dias Open, has competed and won a number of international and domestic competitions and his ambition is to move to Europe to further his tennis career.
“I'm looking to move to Germany or some place in Europe where tennis is really big,” he says. For now, Tejas coaches other players in Panjim and Porvorim.
The 25-year-old adores Roger Federer’s composure, the iconic serve and volleys and the Swiss ace’s graceful single-handed backhand, while Nishad prefers the way Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza pair up as a mixed doubles team.
“They are both very strategic and technical in their approach and it is fun to watch them. Sania Mirza has given a lot of hope and motivation to men and women players of our country by achieving great feats in tennis,” said Nishad proudly.
