After notching up what he himself described as “the biggest win of his career so far”, Mumbai lad Karan Rastogi admitted he was desperately looking for a victory and a chance to play Rafael Nadal next. “I can’t wait to play him. It’s incredible. I had a look at the draw and I wanted to win this match so that I can play Nadal on Centre Court. Yes, it was an incentive to do well today,” an ecstatic Rastogi told reporters after his thrilling 6-3, 6-4 win over the much-higher ranked Brazilian Thiago Alves on Court 1.

Commenting on his approach for the next match, Rastogi said: “I just want to go out there and enjoy myself. I don’t care if I lose love and love, I will be happy if I give it my best.”

Nadal, on his part, too paid the Indian a compliment saying “the next match will not be easy”. The two-time French Open champion, who was given a tough fight by German Rainer Schuettler before coming through 6-4, 6-2, said: “He (Rastogi) had a good win today. Every match is tough. Every opponent is tough.”

The 20-year-old India No 4, who won the ITF Futures title in the Capital last week, said he “was happy to carry the form in Chennai”. Asked if things were finally clicking for him, Rastogi said: “I’m glad I made good use of the wild card here. It’s about time I stepped up to a higher level. But at the same time, I don’t want to get too ahead of myself.”

... contd.