The daring Dane

But the 26-year-old Dane had other ideas. After losing a couple of close matches to the World No. 8 in the past, Pless wanted to score this time round.

8220;I knew I had a pretty good chance. I had my chances on the previous two occasions as well. In fact, I had set points the last time we played, before losing 6-7 in the second set. Nalbandian won their second round encounter in Beijing 6-3, 7-6 2 in 2005. On the earlier occasion too, we played a tie-break. Again a second round clash in Beijing in 2004 saw the Argentine coming through 7-6 5, 3-6, 6-3. So I thought I could pull it off this time, but then you don8217;t expect a win against the World No 8,8221; Pless told The Indian Express after his round of practice on the Centre Court this afternoon.

The Dane finished the season gone by as the No. 1 player from his country for the first time since 2001. He attained his career-best ranking of 65 in January 2002, before missing the whole of 2003 and the greater part of the 2004 season due to a right shoulder injury that required three operations.

8220;Those 15 months were very tough. I think I was very unlucky to sit out at a time when I was playing some good tennis,8221; says Pless.

A former top-ranked junior in the world, Pless who lives in Dubai has the Australian Open juniors singles and doubles titles to his credit, besides a runners-up finish at Wimbledon and the US Open. As a junior, he practised with the likes of Pete Sampras and Jennifer Capriati at Saddlebrook.

Recounting those days, Pless says it was motivating for an up-and-coming player like him to watch Sampras train. But he surprises you a little when he adds: 8220;Sampras didn8217;t practice hard off the court. He just had great hands. In the end, it8217;s not about the practice but what you do on the court that matters.8221;