A confidence-booster, says Yuki
A relieved Yuki Bhambri said his five-set victory over New Zealand’s Daniel King Turner in the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Group 1 relegation play-off tie would give him a lot of confidence in future.
Yuki was trailing two sets to love in the opening singles against Turner before clawing his way to a memorable win. It was also the first time the 20-year-old had played a five-set match.
“Matches like these teach you a lot. It will give me a lot of confidence. I am really happy to pull it off,” Yuki said on Friday.
Reflecting on his game, Yuki said: “It is not the best tennis I have played. I played terribly to lose the second set 0-6. Nothing went right for me, neither my first serve or groundstrokes. I had a few opportunities in the third set and that helped me to come back in the match.”
The Delhi boy profusely thanked his team-mates for supporting him. “The team really helped. They constantly supported me when I was down and gave me a lot of confidence,” he said.
Asked what was going in his mind when he began the third set, Yuki said:” I just wanted to win the first game. It did not want to lose another set at 6-0, it would have been so embarrassing!”
Coach Nandan Balsaid the youngster showed a lot of heart in his win. "We kept him hydrated. That was the key. A player can break tactically but if he break downs physically, then it gets tough. He showed incredible physical strength and a big heart to fight,” he said.
Turner said his strained calf affected his game. “I had strained my left calf. I felt it when I was coming to the net. He (Yuki) started hitting the ball very well,” he said.
New Zealand captain Marcel Vos was understandably disappointed.
"It was very unfortunate but we are looking forward to the matches ahead."
