Jozef Kovalik, the young sensation who stunned World No.6 Marin Cilic at the Chennai Open, said his focus and concentration were the key reasons which helped him pull off a major upset. "Only after the last point was over did I believe I could win, I was just concentrating on playing and hitting every ball. The last game is always the most tough and I had to really stay focused.”
READ: >Marin Cilic knocked out by Kovalik
Kovalik said his experience of playing three games before coming into this one was important. "The games helped me warm-up. I expected a really tough match. You don’t play against top seeds every week. It’s good experience to play against top guys.”
“Now I know I can beat the big guys, I would like to play them more. Go further to second and third round in major tournaments,” added Kovalik.
The Slovakian, whose cross-court shots were too hot for Cilic to handle, said he had no specifc strategy to oust the top-sseded player. "You cant go in with one strategy, you have to adopt according the situations,” informed Kovalik.
Kovalik is a relatively unknown figure in the tour, and he felt that helped him. "I knew a lot about him, I have seen him play. I don’t think he knew much about me which was good for me.”
The crowd, majority of whom had come to see Cilic in action, eventually switched sides as the Kovalik grew into the game. “People were amazing. There was unbelievable support from the crowd; I have never experienced anything like this. I really liked it,” said the Kovalik.
"I don’t have any long term targets, will just focus from one tournament to another. I would like to play more ATP tournaments, as compared to college tournaments,” said the 24-year-old, before concluding the press conference.
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