Chennai Open : Somdev crashes out, Ramanathan, Paes sweep through to second round
Ramkumar Ramanathan recorded the second biggest win of his career on Tuesday by upsetting World No.98 Daniel Gimeno-Traver in the opening round of the ATP Chennai Open. Veteran Leander Paes and Marcel Granollers also made it to the second round in men’s doubles event, while Somdev Devvarman’s struggles continued as he crashed out of the tournament.
Playing in front of the home crowd, Ramkumar Ramanathan produced a stellar display of tennis to outplay his Spanish opponent Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6-2, 6-0. Ramanathan, ranked World No. 248, showcased an array of his skills in front of the cheering crowd to put his higher-ranked opponent under pressure. The booming serves and strokeplay of the Chennai lad finished off Gimeno-Traver’s hopes of progressing in a match that lasted just one hour. Ramanathan, who entered the tournament as a wild card entry, will now take on World No. 12 Kevin Anderson in the second round.
On the other hand, Somdev, who is ranked 177 in the world, crashed out of the tournament after losing to Russian wild card Andrey Rublev 3-6, 6-3, 3-6. The 18-year old Russian had a bad start to the match after trailing 1-3 in the first set against the Indian opponent. However, he lifted his game to win the next five games to pocket the first set 6-3.
Somdev, who last won a match in the ATP tour in September 2014, produced a comeback in the second set to win it 6-3. All hopes of Somdev went in flames in the third set as the Russian outplayed the India to win the match by taking the third set 6-3.
In the men’s doubles, veteran Leander Paes and Marcel Granollers made a smooth start to the tournament after defeating Taro Daniel and John Millman 6-2, 6-3. Daniel and Millman, who were last-minute replacements after the withdrawal of Stanislas Wawrinka and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, were no match for the second seeds in the match.
