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Tuesday, Jan 29, 2008
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Yuki Bhambri delighted

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: Yuki Bhambri was pleased with his semifinal showing in the junior event of the Australian Open. The 15-year-old Delhi lad said that he would try his best to win one of the remaining three Grand Slams this season.

“It was a great experience to play on the show courts in front of big crowd. At the start, I was taking it one match at a time. When I reached the semifinals, I started thinking that I would go all the way. From that viewpoint, I was a bit disappointed. Otherwise, I am happy with my effort,” said Yuki.

Disappointed with his to eventual champion Bernard Tomic of Australia, Yuki said, “It was a very close match. The score may be misleading. I think I was a bit tired in the end, and he was more solid.”

First trophy

Quite interestingly, Tomic had lost in the pre-quarterfinals of the Asia-Oceania junior championship in the third set tie-break to the brilliant Di Wu of China. Yuki had outplayed the Chinese in the final then, to bag the first big trophy in his junior career.

Yuki had beaten the third-seeded Daniel Evans of Britain in the Australian Open quarterfinals to emphasise his fighting skills.

“After beating a top-10 player and playing so close against Tomic, I have the confidence to compete against the best juniors in the world. I have to work on my volleys and fitness. Of course, I need to be stronger,” said Yuki.

The world No. 17 junior will rest and train for the next few weeks before playing the Asian junior circuit in March. The additional points would push Yuki’s ranking up, possibly boosting his morale for the French Open and Wimbledon.

Challenge

“Playing on clay will be a challenge for me. I am looking forward to it,” he added. Coach Aditya Sachdeva was equally satisfied with his ward’s performance, and stressed that the story could have been a lot different had Yuki served out the second set at 5-2 against Tomic.

”Yuki played unbelievable tennis in the quarterfinals. You had to give it to Tomic in the first set of the semifinals, as whatever he touched turned to gold. In the second, Yuki was serving at 5-2. He didn’t close it out there. Those extra games took the toll on Yuki in the eventual analysis. He lost the momentum,” said Sachdeva.

He hoped that Yuki would get to train and compete in Europe at least about a month and a half before the French Open to be ready for the challenge.

“If you want to be a world class player, there is no option but to get used to playing on the slow courts with heavy balls. Our courts are too quick,” observed Sachdeva. The coach was happy about the other Indian boy Karunuday Singh who had lost in a second round in a three setter to the eventual runner-up Tsung-Hua Yang of Chinese Taipei. “Yuki and Karun played top class tennis. Unfortunately they did not combine that well in the doubles,” he said.

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