"I am still looking for my game in this jungle," said Saketh Myneni who qualified into the singles main draw of the Tata Open Maharashtra after nearly throwing away the advantage against Egor Gerasimov of Belarus, here Sunday.
Myneni is now fourth Indian in the draw and will open his campaign against French fifth seed Benoit Paire, who is coming into the season after enduring a mediocre 2018.
Myneni was leading 4-1, with two breaks in his kitty, but was soon trailing 4-5 in the decisive third set against the Belarusian, ranked 163.
However, he pulled it off in the tie-breaker, winning 6-4 6-7(4) 7-6(4). He let out a scream when Gerasimov hit one wide on the second match point.
"That was like giving it back to the so many fans who were cheering for me. I was not emotional. It depends, I did not want to disappoint the fans," said Myneni, who generally doesn't show his emotions on court.
Ask him about the third set and he quips, "It was up and down, it's part of my life."
So what is that he is missing in his game?
"I am basically a feel player (sic), I need to feel the ball, there is not much power. Then there is nutrition part and recovery process. I am also trying to be physically aggressive."
"It was soreness and tight because I played a couple of wrong shots and it triggered the pain."
"After playing for two and a half hours I did not cramp and I will take it from this match."
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content