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Chennai - Buoyed by a good season and wins against the best in the world, World No.9 tennis player Janko Tipsarevic feels the overall improvement in his game would take him to a title win in the Chennai Open.
The Serbian almost started 2012 as the winner in the season-opener here but had to end up as runner-up after a hard-fought three-hour 14-minute singles final against 21-year-old Canadian Milos Raonic.
However, a few hours later he won his first ATP World Tour doubles crown for which he teamed up with India’s Leander Paes.
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“I have improved my game in all aspects but the biggest change came in my mind-set and how I was able to keep up with the constant pressure. I feel it is mainly the attitude on court,” said Tipsarevic.
Chennai Open 2013 will mark Tipsarevic’s sixth visit here. Before coming to India last year, he defeated World No.1 and compatriot Novak Djokovic in the 2011 year-end World Tour finals in London. This year, he is back after beating the best player in the world for a second time.
“It’s not easy playing against Novak. I was trying to be more aggressive than him and for those matches things went my way.”
Tipsarevic is looking forward to kick-starting the new season in style here.
“It’s a great event. You have been seeing a lot of me in the last few years, and every year I am playing better and better as you can see and I really want to win the whole thing this year,” he said.
“The Indian crowd is great. And the fact that we play out matches in the evening makes the atmosphere even more electric.”
Tipsarevic has had an exciting run this season, reaching the semis at the Madrid Open, winning the ATP World Tour Title in Stuttgart, making it to the Swiss Open final and the quarterfinals of the US Open.
The Belgrade native served as an alternate in the 2011 ATP World Tour Finals but qualified outright for the first time this year.
“Making it to the world tour finals was a big goal of mine and the fact that I made it directly this year is an even bigger achievement”, he added, ahead of opening the new season at the SDAT-Nungambakkam Tennis Stadium.
India’s tennis player Somdev Devvarman has been granted a wild card entry for the tournament.
“He has been unlucky with his injury lately but I am sure he will be back. Chennai is a great place to start the comeback,” said Tipsarevic, talking of Devvarman.
