The mental side of tennis can be a boon or a bust for players of any experience level, but just two and half years after he began the sport, Peak to Peak’s Vivaan Bhardwaj has become a mental giant.

The senior proved as much when he finished Class 4A state runner-up in the individual state tournament at No. 1 singles this fall, a feat that earned him the Daily Camera boys tennis player of the year honor.

It wasn’t his finals performance against D’Evelyn’s Nithesh Karuppasamy, however, that stood out in that arena. It was his semifinal win over Colorado Academy’s Bennett Neely.

“Usually, what I see is my forehand is really, really solid in the first two sets,” Bhardwaj said. “Usually, until the 70% mark of the match being finished, my forehand is probably my biggest strength. After that,

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