Competing in an enclosed arena for the first time, which presented altogether different playing conditions, dented his chances at the junior US Open, says Yuki Bhambri.
The junior Australian Open winner was making good strides towards his second junior Grand Slam title, but due to rain was forced to play his delayed quarter-final on indoor courts and went down fighting to Chase Buchanan of the United States.
Yuki says his opponent had the advantage of playing on the indoor courts before.
"Yes, it certainly did, as this was the first time I played a tournament in an indoor stadium and there was no influence of the wind and sun.
"So it was extremely difficult to adjust, whereas Chase had been playing in an indoor court in his college; so he was quite used to it," Yuki said from New York before flying to South Africa to join Davis Cup squad.
The junior world No 1 also says that he could have beaten Buchanan had they contested on an outdoor court.
"Yes, I am sure I would definitely have had a better chance playing outdoors. I beat him at the US qualifiers in 2007 in my first round," Yuki said.
Although the youngster is heartbroken due to the unexpected early exit from the tournament, he has reasons to keep a smile on his face.
"I was hoping to bring the Cup back home, so, obviously, losing in the quarter-finals was a big disappointment. I think I played quite well throughout the week, so I am hoping I will continue to better my performance in the next tournaments.
"Also, I got a chance to sit for an hour with Rafael Nadal and that was an awesome experience," he said.
The Delhi player, who won four ITF singles title in the last few months, is now targeting a good performance in the Davis Cup World Group play-off tie against South Africa if he makes a debut.
"The next target is to play in the Davis Cup and also win my match for India. Then I have a few Futures in India and I hope to perform well in them to further improve my men's ranking," he said.
Yuki was named replacement for the seasoned Leander Paes in the Davis Cup team after the senior pro pulled out of the tie citing shoulder and elbow injury.
