Junior world No. 1 Yuki Bhambri spoke to Mobile ESPN’s Rohan Narayan after winning his third Futures title at home in two months.

What does Yuki Bhambri do when he decides to skip the junior Grand Slams? The junior world No. 1 simply comes to Delhi and wins the Futures title in front of his home crowd. That is precisely what the birthday boy also did on Saturday.

As Wimbledon approached its climax during the weekend, Yuki, who turned 17 on Saturday, lifted his third ITF Futures title in two months. His 6-2 7-6(6) win over sixth seed Rohan Gajjar in the USD 15,000 event was not the most comfortable of wins, but Yuki was still a satisfied lad.

"I am happy with the way I played. I was very consistent throughout the match and that is what made the difference," said Yuki, whose tussle with a much senior opponent - Gajjar is 25-year-old - was keenly watched by sports minister MS Gill.

The junior Australian Open champion has had to take some hard decisions this year by missing the French Open due to injury and Wimbledon in order to concentrate on the men's tour. But the lanky lad is not complaining.

"I would have loved to be in London for the excellent weather. However, practically speaking, the goal is to do well in the men's circuit, and it is time to upgrade the performance," said Yuki, who grabbed 25 valuable ATP points for his fine effort during the week.

After winning back-to-back titles in Delhi in May, Yuki sprained his ankle during the doubles event in Kuwait Futures event which forced him to skip the French Open junior event. Therefore, coming into the present twin-legged Futures tournament in Delhi, he seriously lacked match practice.

But a stint at the Nick Bollettieri Centre was a boon according to the youngster. "I trained for two weeks at the Bollettieri Academy. I had good confidence-boosting sessions with a few local players which helped a lot," said Yuki, who will look to add a fourth title to his name next week in the second leg.

Coming out of an injury and playing under hot and humid conditions can take its toll on a player, but for Yuki, the key was to take every match as it comes and not hurry into things.

"Every time I step on the court, I feel I have improved. Every match and every win has given me confidence. I was just a bit conscious of not doing any harm during the first couple of rounds. But after a couple of matches, I was feeling fine and did not think about the injury," said Yuki, who is currently ranked 650 in the world.
Having gifted himself a perfect birthday present in the form of a Futures title, Yuki has already planned what he wants as a gift on his 18th birthday. A title-win at the Challenger level!