My aim is to break into top 10 by year-end: Gasquet

Mumbai, Sep 23 (UNI) Richard Gasquet of France, who is top-seeded in the 416,000 dollars Kingfisher Open tennis tournament, said his aim was to break into the top 10 by the year-end.

Gasquet who had been upto as high as seventh in the world after reaching the semifinals of the Wimbledon Championships, has since then dropped to 14th in the world.

Speaking to reporters here today on the eve of the Kingfisher Open which begins tomorrow, he said it was nice to be top seeded, but this also brings on added pressure.

''I might be the favourite to win the tournament but there are a lot of good players in the draw and therefore I have to be on top of my game to be able to win,'' he said.

Speaking about his first round opponent Kristol Vliegen, Gasquet said ''That was the toughest first round you could receive. He is a very good player with no susceptible weaknesses in his game. I have also lost to him on clay, which however is not my favourite surface.

It would not be easy for me and I will have to play high quality tennis to get the better of him.'' On his own game, he said ''At the age of 21, I have already managed to reach the semis of a Grand Slam tournament and my aim is to win one of the Grand Slams in the next two to three years.'' On the areas he needs to improve, Gasquet said he is still young and needs to work on his physique, and needs to become stronger. The mental side of his game is okay, but he needs to become stronger.

Upon which he is concentrating now.

On being compared to world number 1 Roger Federer by being called 'Baby Federer', he said ''It is a huge honour for me to be compared with the world's best, but I am still faraway from being anywhere near to Federer.'' UNI GS SSS TB DB2119