I had my chance, and blew it

It turned out to be a terrible day at the office today. But then one has to take the rough with the smooth in tennis, as in life itself. It ...

It turned out to be a terrible day at the office today. But then one has to take the rough with the smooth in tennis, as in life itself. It was one of those days when nothing went right for me. Michaella Krajicek didn8217;t do anything extraordinary, but I thought on this day I wasn8217;t up to the mark.

I was seeing and timing the ball well in the practice sessions but it was a different ball game, quite literally as it turned out, once the match began. There was a little breeze to upset the timing but I somehow didn8217;t have the 8217;feel8217; of the ball and it truly was a frustrating day.

It isn8217;t a flattering feeling to join the ranks of seeded players who8217;ve been knocked out of the competition. Ana Ivanovic, Mary Pierce, Dinara Safina, Marion Bartoli, Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Gisela Dulko also lost today.

Though I didn8217;t watch their games, I can well imagine what could have happened on the courts where most of these seeds were playing. In many cases, it ultimately boils down to one or two crucial points that may not go your way and these 8216;breaks8217; can turn a match.

I had a chance in the second set when I saved two match-points at 4-5 to take the game. At 5-all, I could sense that Krajicek was beginning to get a little flustered, and this is where I ought to have raised my game.

I missed a crucial break-point that would have given me a 6-5 lead and the match could have turned, as I would have had the opportunity to serve for the set. It was a day on which my spirit wasn8217;t complemented by my touch as I tried to hang in there.

It was not a packed stadium but the crowd support was tremendous, with Indian and Dutch fans doing everything they could to egg us on.

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The doubles match against the formidable Kuznetsova and Mauresmo was always going to be a tough one unless we came up with something sensational. But that was not to be as the French-Russian pair never allowed us to get into the match, with a superb exhibition of doubles tennis.

The good part about the game of tennis is that we get a lot more opportunities than some other sports like sprinting and athletics. One can always hope for an improved performance in the coming days as we have the opportunity to compete week after week and in four Grand Slams a year.

In fact, I8217;m not yet quite done in this year8217;s Australian Open with the Mixed Doubles still to be played. Of course, we face another world-class team of Bob Bryan and Vera Zvonoreva in the first round after a day8217;s rest.

Meanwhile, I8217;m happy that Mahesh Bhupathi came through to win his match in the men8217;s doubles in straight sets today to bring some cheer to Indian sports fans.

Oz Open overview

	nbsp;	The other Indian on court: The 11th seeded Indo- South African duo of Mahesh Bhupathi and Wesley Moodie posted a 7-5, 6-3 win over the Italian-Austrian team of Daniele Bracciali and Oliver Marach. Czech Mate: Czech 22-year-old Iveta Benesova pulled off the biggest upset on Day Four when she eliminated 5th seed French veteran Mary Pierce in straight sets at the Margaret Court Arena. The 1995 champion struggled from the start, dropping the first five games, before eventually losing 6-3, 7-5. Benesova though wouldn8217;t be complaining, as she moved into third round of a Grand Slam for the first time in 15 attempts. Myskina survives: 12th seed Anastasia Myskina endured a second-set lapse, breathing problems and 50 unforced errors, before prevailing 7-6 7-4 0-6, 6-3 against American Jamea Jackson in 2 hours and 7 minutes. Bad day for the women seeds Mary Pierce and Sania were not the only big guns to misfire. It was curtains for five others at Melbourne Park on Day Four: 8226; Russian 19th seed Dinara Safina won four games in the first set, but didn8217;t trouble the scorers thereafter as she was ousted by Sweden8217;s Sofia Arvidsson. 8226; Rising Serbian star and 21st seed Ana Ivanovic who entered the championship in excellent form, having beaten Amelie Mauresmo in Sydney last week, suffered a 3-6, 5-7 defeat at the hands of Australian Samantha Stosur. 8226; German 22nd seed Anna-Lena Groenefeld took the first set 6-4 before losing the next two 4-6, 1-6 against Spain8217;s Maria Sanchez Lorenzo. w French 27th seed Marion Bartoli lost 4-6, 6-3, 3-6 to Italian Roberta Vinci. 8226; Argentine 31st seed Gisela Dulko managed to win only two games in the entire match, as she was brushed aside by Japanese Aiko Nakamura, who became the only Asian to reach the round of 32. Rebound Ace: Australian Peter Luczak basted 22 aces against Belgian Olivier Rochus. 8212; Anupama Bagri	nbsp;