"More than that whatever this win gives me, it means a lot to the kids growing up in India. I really hope that my Friday's win can inspire them to come up. Hopefully, Indian tennis could rise better and better to greater heights," he told the post-match conference.

The 22-year-old US collegiate champion also admitted his epoch win over former world No 1 Spaniard Carlos Moya in the second round Thursday boosted his confidence.

"Thursday's win definitely gave me confidence for Friday's match. The most important thing for me Friday was to take care of my own serve because Karlovic is a good server. I did that exceptionally well Friday especially first set going to the breaker. I wanted to be tough and get every point from my serves. That was really a key to this," he said.

On Karlovic's game, he said he was struggling from the ground. "I think if he was not struggling I was going to be more solid off with my game. I kept that going throughout the match especially my service games. I had to play solid baseline points when he just slaps the ball in. He always served me well and kept himself in the match," Devvarman said.