Chennai Open: Ramanathan’s dream run ends in close encounter

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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Home favourite Ramkumar Ramanathan’s dream run at the ATP Chennai Open was halted in the quarterfinals on Friday after he ended up on the wrong side of a tight contest against British No.2 Aljaž Bedene, in the Men’s Singles event.

After registering upset victories over World No.98 Daniel Gimeno-Traver in the first round and World No. 164 Alexander Kudryavtsev in the second round, Ramanathan, ranked 248 in the World produced a spirited performance at the SDAT stadium in Chennai before going down 7-6, 4-6, 3-6 to Aljaž Bedene. The first set saw both players matching each other shot for shot to take the set to a tie-breaker. Ramanathan, who entered the event as a wild card, held his nerve in the tie-breaker to take the set 7-6.

With the crowd egging him on, the 21-year old held his second set by matching the World No.45’s superior skill with pure grit and determination. Ramanathan’s put a lot of pressure on the Briton by playing long rallies, which lasted more than 20 shots. However, the gritty Indian’s serve was finally broken in the second set as Aljaž Bedene wrapped it 6-4 to level the match.

Ramanathan was nowhere to be seen in the third set though, as the British No.2 raced to a 3-0 lead to put one foot in the semi-final. The Indian once again produced a spirited comeback to close the gap on the Briton to 3-5. Ramanthana’s never- say-die attitude put pressure on Bedene as he threw away four match points.

However, Bedene finally confirmed his victory in the third set after Ramanthan’s return found the net to end an epic game, which lasted more two hours and 18 minutes.

Ramanathan’s heroics in the tournament are sure to earn him a handful of ranking points, which could take him to the top 200 in the World. 

Ramanathan and his partner N Balaji also suffered heartbreak in the Men’s Doubles event after losing the quarterfinal match against Somdev Devvarman and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan 4-6, 6-1, 6-10. 

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