Top-10 players can humiliate you - Sania

It was the second time I played Elena Dementieva this year and as in our previous meeting, the Russian got the better of me in a very tight, gruelling battle � this time at Wimbledon.

Any top-10 player in the world possesses the capacity to humiliate you on court unless you, yourself, are playing at your very best. I am glad I did not allow her that liberty in either of our encounters. I think this was a high quality game for most part of the match and the level of tennis at times reached dizzy heights. Dementieva is easily one of the hardest hitters in the game and her serve has improved immensely since I last played her.

It was a proud moment for me to have some of the biggest names in Indian tennis by the courtside when I played this match. This included the likes of Jaideep Mukherjea, Naresh Kumar, C.G.K. and Mahesh Bhupathi, Gaurav and Arati Natekar and of course, my coach, Asif Ismail. It was reassuring to know at the end of the match that they all felt that the improvements in my game over the last few months were headed in the right direction.

The disappointment of a first round singles loss at Wimbledon (albeit to a world-class player) could not, however, compare with the disillusionment and despair I�ve felt ever since I got the news a few days back about the untimely passing away of my first-ever tennis coach, Srikkanth Sir. I started my tennis under him as a six-year-old and though I moved on to play with other coaches in later years, Srikkanth Sir remained my greatest well-wisher and a dear family friend until his death.

An engineer by profession, Srikkanth Sir got into tennis coaching for the love of the game. Since the last few years, he did not look like a happy man. Perhaps, life did not treat him the way he deserved to be treated and he appeared to be disillusioned with life. But as a family friend and my well-wisher, he was always there for me. He was my dad�s doubles partner in a few tournaments some years back and his boyish excitement and cheerful eyes after beating a few local favourite teams in the tournament is still vivid in front of my eyes.

He never meant any harm to anybody and perhaps, harmed himself more than anyone else by his somewhat erratic way of life when frustration began to set in. He was prone to depressions but tried his best to cover that behind his smiling face. The last time I met him was a few months ago when my sponsor, Mr. G.V.K. Reddy honoured all the coaches, who had worked with me at a grand reception. As usual, he wished me the very best in life.

He was a younger brother to both my parents and someone whom I cared for. But he is gone now forever � at the age of just 34. I will remember you always and my next win, whenever it comes, will be just for you, Srikkanth Sir!