145;Seeing him get over his trauma was reason enough for me to win146;

After Sania Mirza scripted history at Wimbledon 2003, it8217;s the turn for Karan Rastogi to hit a 8216;first8217;. After his win over It...

After Sania Mirza scripted history at Wimbledon 2003, it8217;s the turn for Karan Rastogi to hit a 8216;first8217;. After his win over Italian Fabio Fognini in the Australian Open boys8217; quarterfinals today, Rastogi became the first to make it to the semifinals of a boys8217; category of a Grand Slam event since Leander Paes8217; US Open win circa 1991.

And interestingly, Rastogi is quick to give a lot of credit to Paes for coming this far at the Australian Open. According to the youngster, when there was a rain break in his match in the third round he was leading 6-1, 4-5 it was Paes who spotted him in the locker room and volunteered some words of inspiration. 8216;8216;You are doing great,8217;8217; Paes apparently said, adding, 8216;8216;Keep your focus, everything will be okay.8217;8217; Rastogi says, 8216;8216;It was comforting, as I was tense. Seeing a player come out of his own trauma was enough to give me reason to win,8217;8217; and go on to script a piece of Indian history.

For the 17-year-old the Open so far has 8216;8216;sure been a dream8217;8217;, as he told The Indian Express, when contacted by telephone.

Interestingly, all Rastogi8217;s wins so far have been revenge wins. Including Italian Fognini, who he took out 6-1, 7-5 today in the quarterfinal. Two others 8212; Sunu Trijati Indonesia and Chu-Huan Yi Chinese Taipei 8212; are juniors who have beaten Rastogi in their only past encounters.

Choosing not to comment on the 8216;vengeance8217; factor, Rastogi says, 8216;8216;The last six months have been great. Important victories8230;. Which was confidence building.8217;8217;

Having spent valuable time at the Nick Bollettieri Academy, Rastogi has made it to two semis and one final Kentucky, September 2003 in the past six months. Along with the Academy, Rastogi gives credit to his coach Rama Rao, for his successful run. 8216;8216;He guided me through my early days,8217;8217; Rastogi says.

On his performance so far, Rastogi says, 8216;8216;Apart from aiming for a win, I approached every match with a cool head. Things just fell into place. I expected to do well. My ranking expected me to do well, which so far has been as per script.8217;8217;

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Next up is eighth seed Frenchman Gael Monfils, who again has beaten him the last time they met. 8216;8216;Can8217;t say,8217;8217; comes an honest reply about his chances. But if he does get past Monfils, and makes the final, he will become only the fourth Indian to do so, another stunning achievement. Only Ramanathan Krishnan 1954, Wimbledon, Ramesh Krishnan 1979, French Open, Wimbledon and Paes 1990, Wimbledon and 1991, US Open have done it in the past.