It took Harsh Mankad eight years since turning pro to earn his first Grand Slam appearance and the 30-year-old is elated that finally he has his special moment after a long and "tough" journey.
Mankad, grandson of Indian cricket great Vinoo Mankad, qualified for the doubles event of the Wimbledon along with Serbian partner Ilija Bozoljac on Wednesday.
"Yes, it's definitely a very special moment to qualify for Wimbledon. It's been a long and tough journey. It's been a lot of hard work but I've enjoyed it. I'm grateful for the opportunities I've had," Mankad said from London.
Asked if qualification for a doubles event dilutes the good feeling and that a similar success in singles would have felt different, he said, "Tough to say. I'm happy either way."
Mankad was at the peak of his singles career, close to breaking into top 200, when a knee injury put a break on his progress in 2006.
He spent almost one year in rehabilitation and when he came back in November 2007, barring a few good tournaments, positives results were a few to mention.
Mankad said the passion for the game kept pushing him during the injury period and he did not forget to mention about the people who supported him those testing times.
"I wanted to get back on the court and play again. This thought kept me going. My wife has been a huge support. The Goodwin family from the US and my friend Siddharth from Bombay have supported me financially through this past year which has been a tremendous help.
"But the list is long and I've had a lot of support my entire career and I'm grateful to everyone who has helped me," he said.
He was active on ATP challenger Tour and ITF circuit but in 2008 he could manage to win just one Futures singles titles and just one runner-up finish, while he did not play the singles at all in 2009.
When singles career did not take the shape he had wanted, Mankad decided to concentrate more on doubles and is proud of his decision.
"In 2008 I made the decision to focus on doubles. I enjoy playing doubles and it was a way for me to continue my pro tennis career," he said.
And in the last two years his doubles ranking has zoomed to 118 from 1242.
Mankad is realistic when it comes to his hopes from his first Major tournament and is just happy to learn from this opportunity.
"I will focus on my game and try to learn from this experience. I will continue to work hard and whatever the results are, I will accept," he said.
