Great escape and disappointment on two sides of court

Kolkata, Sep 18 (UNI) Was it a great escape for Tamarine Tanasugarn only time will tell, but today she did her bit throwing the starapping Estonian Kaia Kanepi out of gear in her own game raising visions of her vintage self three years back.

''Well it certainly was a tough test which I am happy to have passed,'' smiled the 29-year-old Thai. ''It could have gone either way.'' But she certainly was not at her best in the first set and the first half of the second. Tanasugarn holds her injury responsible for it, the injury to her feet and ankle which has bothered her for some time and from which she is trying to make a come back. ''It's the injury that's taking its toll on me,'' she said.

The Estonian was bothered by cramps in the third set. Did that make Tanasugarn's work easier? ''She certainly didn't move so well in the third set,'' admits Tanasugarn. ''Maybe it did make my work a little easier.'' ''It's tennis,'' smiled a philosophical Kanepi after the loss.

''It was a tough match and it was just not my day.'' The cramps forced her to play short ones in the third set, to avoid much movement. But even then she missed many.

5-4 up in the second set, was she nervous? ''Well I wanted to win so badly that I guess I was a little nervous. Moreover, being the sixth seed, I guess there was this pressure to succeed as well,'' she shrugs.

To come back to Tanasugarn, players from Thailand , like Paradorn Srichaphan and herself were doing very well on the world stage not so long back. Then what happened? ''Well, Paradorn is still No one in Asia and I believe he will certainly be back in the top 10 before long. It's so hard to be up there all the time,'' says Tanasugarn.

She also believes that Asian women -- like Sania Mirza, Angelique Widjaja and herself, as also the Chinese brigade have the potential to make a mark on the world stage.

And what are the targets that she is setting for herself? ''I'm taking it on a day-to-day basis and enjoying the game.'' But having been in the top 100 for close to nine years, she must be having a target in mind? ''Yes,'' concedes the Thai who is world No. 125 now. She does not wish to stretch herself too much but she would certainly like to be in the top 100 by the end of the year.

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