BENGALURU:
Blaz Kavcic
was serving for the match. Having already failed to convert three match points, it was a relief for the Slovenian top seed to see
Mario Vilella Martinez
’s return nestle on the other side of the net. The match ended 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 after two hours and six minutes and the 30-year-old screamed his happiness. There was a lot riding on this match for him.
This was the final push for Kavcic, playing through an inflamed knee, to get his rankings high enough for a spot in the
Australian Open
main draw. The promise of a pay cheque of at least $50,000 is the lure.
“I’ve had issues with knees for the last two months. So I don't practise much. When I play, I take pain pills. The best would be rest but I'm very close to making the Australian Open main draw, that's why I'm playing. The goal is not to win the tournament here because I'm not as prepared as I need to be,” explains Kavic after entering the quarterfinals of the Bengaluru Open Challenger here on Wednesday.
“To enter the Australian Open and get $50,000 for the first round, it’s a big deal. If I can make the main draw, then I know my season will be ok. I can get a good coach and a physio,” he says.
It took a lot out of Kavcic, once ranked as high as 68 before injuries and three surgeries took their toll, to get the win. He broke early and held on to take the first set 6-4 before losing out the next one 3-6. Frustration and pain was evident in his each move in the decider where he broke thrice, once more than his opponent, before finally getting over the line.
“(The pain) is pretty bad. Now, even after the pills, I feel a lot of pain. But I can play a few more matches with it,” he reasons. “I have to calculate (the rankings) and see. I think at this point I'm pretty sure I'll make it (to the Australian Open). It will be very bad luck if I don't,” he continues his train of thought.
Live
ATP
rankings show him at 97, up from his current 102. But nothing’s set in stone.
“Challengers you play to get points so that you can play bigger events. That's where the money is,” Kavcic says matter-of-factly.
While a supremely individual sport, there is an external drive for Kavcic. The Ljubljana-born star has a lot of firsts for his country. First Slovenian to be in top 100 and to win a Grand Slam main draw match. He wants to leave the sport at a better place than when he started it.
“Slovenia's very small. There is not a lot of money in sport. People were saying that it’s not possible for Slovenian player to make the top 100. So for me, it was hard in one way but in another, I knew if I made it, it will be better for the generation behind me,” stresses the lanky star.
“There are some who look at me like I did something but there are many who think I haven't done anything. I think the culture is changing there because people now believe that they can get to top 100,” he adds.
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