KUALA LUMPUR: Fresh from winning the Thailand Open last Sunday, Lee Zii Jia has no intention of taking his foot off the pedal.
Instead, the world No. 10 is adopting a fresh-start mentality for the Malaysia Masters, which begins today at the Axiata Arena.
Zii Jia, however, is only scheduled to face China's world No. 45 Zhao Jun Peng in the first round tomorrow.
"Every tournament is a new beginning for me. We can never be sure what will happen.
"That's why, as I always say, I need to start from scratch at every tournament," said Zii Jia, after testing the courts at the Axiata Arena, a day later than the others.
Zii Jia, who only got back from Bangkok on Monday, spent nearly an hour on court with his coach Wong Tat Meng and sparring partners Lee Shun Yang and Tan Choong Yen.
At the Thailand Open, Zii Jia reclaimed the title by defeating Hong Kong veteran Angus Ng in the final.
The Malaysia Masters is seen as the perfect platform for Zii Jia to test his abilities in preparation for the Paris Olympics in July, especially with the likes of Denmark's world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen and world No. 4 Anders Antonsen, as well as China's Li Shi Feng, all competing.
Barring any upsets, Zii Jia is expected to face Antonsen, the second seed, in the quarter-finals.
Zii Jia stated that he is ready and highly motivated to begin his challenge at the Malaysia Masters.
"At the moment, I am in good condition and excited to compete. I don't want to overthink the draw or anything else. Instead, I will focus on one match at a time," he said.
For the record, Zii Jia's best achievement at the Malaysia Masters was reaching the semi-finals in 2020.
At the previous edition, Zii Jia crashed out in the first round after losing to Taiwan's Lin Chun Yi.