Hall of Fame Open | Ramkumar Ramanathan eliminated, Leander Paes advances to quarters in men’s doubles

07/18/2019

Ramkumar Ramanathan succumbed to an early exit at the ATP Hall of Fame Championships as he fell in straight sets to France’s Ugo Hembert in the second round. Meanwhile, Leander Paes managed to book himself a quarterfinals seat along with doubles partner Marcus Daniell following a comeback victory.

Ramkumar Ramanathan’s sub-par form in the men’s Singles category continued as he was ousted by the number four seed Ugo Hemert in the round of 16. After an average first set for the Indian, the French ranked 48 in the world completely swept aside Ramanathan’s challenge in the second set claiming a 7-6 (7-5), 6-0 victory.

The match was even more crucial for Ramanathan considering 150 ranking points were at stake and such a loss means he could slip to as low as 181 in the ATP world rankings from his current position of 134.

Ramanathan had finished as runner up last year but had to enter as a qualifier this time around, only to have an early exit. He hasn’t reached a semi-final now for the last three months, having last done so in the Challenger tournament in Nanchang in April.

On the other hand, compatriot Leander Paes survived a scare to record a victory against the Australian pair of Luke Saville and Max Purcell. Having lost the first set, Paes along with Kiwi partner Marcus Daniell rallied back to make the final as the scoreboard read, 2-6, 6-2, 10-5.

They will be facing Matthew Ebden and Robert Lindstedt in their next clash.