Well, I guess I needed this tough first round to really put me into that tournament, to really erase what happened at Indian Wells, which is now the case, you know.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
The first rounds of a tournament are always tricky because playing tennis takes a lot out of you.
I just was in the second round. That's painful, because always is tough to lose, but well, that's sport. You win, you lose.
It was only after I made my Duleep Trophy debut did I think I had a realistic chance to play for India. I scored a double hundred, and I realised that I had the potential to play for my country because I played the best bowlers in the country at that time.
I wish I could have won a lot more tournaments, but I got injured every time I played well.
First round of the tournament being a Major, I think the butterflies were a little different than that.
It was like a heavyweight fight, man. Just blow for blow, everybody playing their heart out. The Indians never gave up either, and I can't believe we're finally standing, after 108 years, finally able to hoist the trophy.
In the knockout tournaments, it's futile to prepare for a grand finale. You may have worked out many strategies for the final. But you may lose in the first round itself.
It was a tough year for me, '89, losing two Slam finals and losing another five finals. It wasn't until I won the Masters, or what's now called the ATP Finals, that things changed again. Suddenly I won seven tournaments in 1990 and became No. 1.
I never believed that India could win a medal in badminton because the competition is so tough.
We played well in Kenya. We didn't lose a game and we bowled Pakistan out for 100 twice. We don't need to change much from that for this tournament.
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