Wild card has been big motivational factor, says Rastogi

Mumbai, Sept 21 (UNI) India No three Karan Rastogi is excited and looking forward to playing against some of the biggest names in world tennis in next week's 3,80,000 dollar Kingfisher Airlines ATP Tennis Open here.

''I am excited to be playing the ATP event in my home town after having played in the ABN Amro qualifiers in Rotterdam and the Chennai Open. This tournament has an impressive and strong field.

Perhaps, it is the strongest in India recently,'' the 19-year-old told reporters at the Cricket Club of India here today.

The wild card into the main draw which I have received for this tournament has been a big motivational factor for me and on top of that playing in my home city has only hightened the excitement I am feeling, Rastogi said.

Rastogi also said that he had improved as a player and become stronger too by putting on some weight. ''I have improved quite a bit, got a bit stronger and put on some weight. My serve has got better and I am looking forward to a great week here. I am happy with the way I am playing''.

Indian Davis Cup coach and former national champion Nandan Bal also saw a lot of improvement in Rastogi's game and predicted that the Mumbai youngster is a future India No 1.

''It will be a great experience to play with the top boys in the game. Karan has put on more muscle on his body and can match these guys (physically). He has strong legs too, the only thing he needs now is match maturity, Bal added.

Bal also said that for this tournament, it is only with the tactical matters he will be helping Rastogi out as there is very less time to work on the techique part of his game, he added. ''All I can do with his game is make tactical correction and not technical correction.'' Bal also felt that Rastogi was much better than his world ranking of 361 suggests. It is a matter of stringing together four to five wins in a row and he will be able to make it to the next level, Bal added.

The Indian Davis Cup coach also said that he will be taking this opportunity to look at other Indian players' performance in this tournament.

Rastogi, who has done training stints at the famous Nick Bollettieri Academy in the USA, said that the tournament would help him gain experience which would stand him in good stead to improve as a player.

UNI