Martin Damm full of belief ahead of desert debut in Indian Wells

On faster hard courts indoors this winter, that confidence showed up in the details.

Last month in Montpellier, Damm won five matches, including two in qualifying, while knocking off former Top 10 players Hubert Hurkacz and Roberto Bautista Agut. In his maiden semifinal on the ATP Tour, he dropped a 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 decision to veteran Adrian Mannarino of France.

“I’m serving very well and taking care of my first balls after the serve,” the 6-foot-8 southpaw says. “I’m returning a lot better and moving a lot better, so I’m able to put pressure on guys on their service games. But the most important part is I’m happy on court and happy off court, so it allows me to play free.”

“I was finally finding my footing,” Damm says. “I made the third round of Miami that year, I got into Grand Slam qualies, and all of a sudden I couldn’t walk. I was devastated.”

With distance, he sees it differently.

“As bad as it sounds, I think the injury was actually pretty good for me,” he said. “It allowed me to take a step back and reflect, not just on tennis but life as well, and make some changes that were necessary.”

Klousia recalls hand-feeding him balls while Damm stood in a protective boot with his leg propped on a chair. They also spent time watching old matches and dissecting patterns.

“That adversity matured him,” Klousia says. “Everything we do in practice matters. The detail work matters.”

The serve remains central. Over the past few seasons, they have refined his leg drive and toss location to help him better disguise patterns.

“We talk about pitching a good ballgame,” Klousia says. “He’s got to be Randy Johnson on the mound. Keep guys guessing. Don’t let them get comfortable.”

Away from the court, Damm still finds time for one of his favorite sports. A self-described hockey fanatic who jokes about his “secret talent of sleeping in” on his ATP website bio, Damm made an exception to watch the USA men claim Olympic gold at the recent Milan-Cortina Winter Games.

“I’m a big sleeper, and for me to wake up at 8 a.m. to watch that was a sign of how much I wanted to see that game,” he says with a smile. “I’m super happy that the U.S. was able to win.”

His loyalties are layered, however. The son of former Czech standout Martin Damm, who won 40 career ATP doubles titles and represented his country in Davis Cup, the younger Damm grew up immersed in Czech tennis culture.

“I think I have a deep connection with Czechia since my dad played Davis Cup, and I was kind of able to soak in that atmosphere as a little kid,” he says. “I haven’t experienced that myself yet in Davis Cup with the U.S., but obviously I root for the U.S., especially when they play against Canada.”

Damm starts his Indian Wells campaign Wednesday against 67th-ranked Camilo Ugo Carabelli of Argentina. They have never met.

If he wins, he’ll play No. 28 seed Brandon Nakashima of the U.S.

Now inside the Top 130 and climbing, Damm arrives in the desert believing this moment has been earned. The belief is steadier. The ranking is rising.

And for the first time in Indian Wells, he will step onto the main-draw stage knowing exactly how much work it took to get there.