By Sunder Iyer
Tashkent Challenger
Media Team

Ranked 144 this week Lukas Lacko of Slovakia recorded the biggest upset of the day accounting for  fourth seeded and 93rd ranked Christophe Rochus  . Lacko who started the year at 350 , is probably one of the few players on the circuit to have played, Futures, Challenger , Tour Event and at a Grand Slam event . He spoke to the media team after his win.  

Q.  Congratulations on a great  win, you looked unstoppable  today ?
Lukas: It was my day today, I felt good since the warm up. I knew I was going to win from the first point, it is one of those days that you know everything is right. I’m happy it happened today and hope it continues till the end of the tournament.

Q.  What do you think was the difference between you and Rochus today?
Lukas:  The way I moved and hit the balls, I like the balls they are hard and fly a lot. I also served very well; actually Rochus had only one break point on my serve in the whole match. Also Rochus was not serving well and I capitalized on this.

Q. It has been an interesting year for you playing at all levels on the tennis circuit?
Lukas:  Very true , I was injured last year , I played bad  lost around 30 matches , it was terrible year. I was ranked around 130 and the rankings kept falling and it went as low as 350. I had to start all over again.
At the beginning of the year I started playing Futures and won 4 of the 6 Futures I played made 1 semifinal. This got me points to play Challengers, I played well and my ranking just went up, giving me chance to play qualifying of Tour events and grand Slam. I qualified for a Tour event on Grass in Nederland’s and also at Wimbledon this year, completing a perfect cycle.

Q. You skipped the entire clay court season, any reasons?
Lukas:   Right, I skipped the entire clay court season this year, I think I play better on fast surfaces like hard and grass. I love grass and have done well too on both surfaces so it’s okay for me not to have played the clay court events.

 Q. Your next match is against the home favorite Istomin any thoughts?
Lukas: I have played Istomin At Australian Open last year and lost t him in four sets in a four hour match. But all the sets were very close and could have gone either ways. I think he is also playing well, but I have a chance.

Q. Your goals for the year and how near are you to achieving them?
Lukas: This is for the second time I’ve been away around 66 odd points from breaking into the top 100, I could not do it the last time. I’m probably 55 points away from making it to around 100-105 bracket. I want to be there by the end of the year so I can be in main draws of the Grand Slams and Tour events. I have 4-5 more tournaments this year, this time I’m sure to achieve my goals.

Q. You won a Challenger in Uzbekistan and now the last four of the Tashkent Challenger, this country is lucky for you?
Lukas :  Yes, surely looks like , I won the Challenger in Fergana this year, now semifinals in singles and finals in doubles. Also this is my biggest win over high ranked player this year, It is great I think Uzbekistan is a lucky country for me and love playing here , the conditions, the event , the people are really nice.