Yuki Bhambri: 'It all finally boiled down to a few points today'

Bhambri may have let a match point slip out of his grasp but the top-ranked Indian wasn't perturbed by his loss in the final of the Chennai Open on Saturday.

Bhambri: "Whether you lose on match point or love and love, a loss is a loss."

Australia's Jordan Thompson won his fifth Challenger Trophy in remarkable fashion when he saved a match point to oust top-ranked Indian Yuki Bhambri  7-5, 3-6, 7-5 in the Chennai Open Challenger on Saturday.

Talking about what was going through his mind when he was down a match point, Thompson said, “I was undoubtedly on the back-foot. I took my chance and ended up hitting a backhand winner and served out a couple of aces to get myself out of that game. I was perhaps a little lucky but I got myself out of jail.”

READ: Thompson trumps Bhambri for Chennai Open title

Asked if his serves were a cause of concern, given that he served as many as eight double faults, he said, “I did not have the best serving day but my serve actually got me the win in the end.”

The Aussie said this win was a great boost for him after he endured a poor start to the year. “This win is a massive confidence booster for me. I did not have a great start to 2018 and suffered successive losses at the Brisbane Open, Sydney International, and the Australian Open. It's good to win a tournament and get out of the losing streak.”

“I came here as the number one seed and I felt a  little pressure but I dealt with it well. I didn't lose a set until the final. It's a confidence booster for me to know that I can beat a quality player like Yuki.”

Going in the right direction

Talking to reporters post the match, Bhambri didn't seem very perturbed about losing the tie despite having a match point. “It doesn't matter that I lost despite a match point. Whether you lose on match point or love and love, a loss is a loss. It all finally boiled down to a few points today.

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"Of course, I would have liked to have won the title after coming this close but I think I'm going forward in the right direction,” he said. 

About his performance, which saw him make frequent trips to the net and take the fight to Thompson, he said, “I was going to be the aggressor today. You always consider the risk but you need to see whether it was the right shot or not. Sometimes it was the right shot but at other times it wasn't. I was good with my decisions today but my execution wasn't on point at times.”