We all have our weaknesses, we all try to work on them

It was immensely satisfying to begin the last leg of my schedule for the year on a positive note as I reached the semi-final of the Japan Op...

It was immensely satisfying to begin the last leg of my schedule for the year on a positive note as I reached the semi-final of the Japan Open last week.

The win over Vera Zvonareva in the quarter-finals of the Japan Open, my second-last tournament of the year, was particularly memorable. She had beaten me in the Junior US Open four years ago. In fact, she was the top-ranked player among the juniors at that time.

I have to say I enjoyed avenging that loss, especially now that she is ranked very high in the women’s circuit and has figured in the top 10 of the world only a few months ago. The win proved to me that my own game had improved by leaps and bounds.

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I was confident on the eve of the semi-final against Tatiana Golovin, a fine player who has been coached by the likes of Brad Gilbert and Nick Bolletierri. I must admit I had problems adjusting to the breezy conditions .

Tatiana acclimatized better. She is an excellent ‘retriever’, and it is always easier to retrieve the ball than play strokes when there is a wind blowing. I lost the first set 2-6 and was trailing 0-5 in the second.

I was happy with the way I raised myself at this stage, saving two match-points and winning the next four games in a row. I was serving at 4-5 and could have levelled the scores, but my game slipped a notch or two and Tatiana surged ahead to take the set 6-4.

Every tennis player in the world has some weaknesses in his technique and while Roger Federer may be an exception to this rule, I certainly am not! One has to constantly try to improve and make adjustments to negate the weaknesses. But even if we don’t improve fast, it doesn’t imply in any way that we are not aware of these weaknesses or that we make no attempt to overcome them.

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Two successive semi-final appearances in the doubles event of the Sunfeast Open and Japan Open have taken my ranking in that category to 114, the highest I have achieved so far.

As far as singles is concerned, my ranking has moved to an all-timehigh of 31.However, I will be losing some points in the weeks to come as I will not be playing this calendar year after the Bangkok Open and I could end it ranked around 40. It’s been a long season. I feel mentally and physically exhausted and would like to spend some time ‘recharging the batteries’.

What do you do in the ‘off-season’? This is a question many people have asked. I don’t think I will play any tennis for a month or so. However, I will visit the gym regularly during this period. The worst thing any sportsperson can do during the off-season is to take the feet off the pedal completely.

I will start training on the courts in December. The year will begin for me with the run-up events to the Australian Open in January and I hope to make 2006 as memorable as this year.

(PMG/Globosport)