Ramkumar to be in top-100 post Newport
NEW DELHI: Ramkumar Ramanathan continued his hot streak to storm into the final of Hall of Fame Open with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Tim Smyczek on Saturday. It was his first final in ATP World Tour.
Ramkumar, ranked 161, became the first Indian after Somdev Devvarman in 2011 to make it to the final of an ATP World Tour event. Somdev had reached the final of SA Tennis Open but lost to Kevin Anderson. Leander Paes is the last Indian to win a Tour title 20 years ago at the same event in Newport.
Ramanathan is likely to jump at least 40 spots in the ATP Rankings and enter top 100, according to the ATP website.
It has been a fabulous week for the Chennai boy who has beaten higher-ranked players in Smyczek (World No. 123), Vasek Pospisil (91) , Denis Kudla (86)
The 23-year-old has dropped just one set in the grasscourt tournament, playing with
“I was serving well and I just hung in there,” Ramanathan was quoted as saying in the ATPWorldTour.com after his semi-final win in the. “I didn’t have the greatest first set on return, but I found a groove. He’s a really tricky opponent, especially on these courts. I’m pretty happy to get through.”
He enjoys playing on grasscourt. “Every match is different. The slice here helps a lot. The white cells also. It bounces less. The slices and the volleys, they work out. If you have a good confidence, and a good feel, you can feel some good tennis here,” said Ramanathan, who is the thirdlowest ranked player to reach a tour-level final in 2018.
The Indian who meets Johnson in the final has been in terrific form. Johnson has not dropped more than three games in a set this week. Ramkumar’s first big international scalp was when he defeated Dominic Thiem last year. But his first big break came at home in Chennai Open when he defeated Somdev Devvarman, who was India No.1 player in 2014.
“I was really nervous and that’s where it all started. I was really happy and from that day on. It’s been going upward.”
“Once I won that match against Somdev, I slowly started getting recognised and also when I beat Dominic Thiem, so it was good to have that win, too,” said Ramkumar who has been training at Sánchez-Casal Academy in Barcelona.
Ramkumar, who learnt his basics in Chennai from T Chandrasekaran, has also visited the famous Nick Bollettieri academy. “When I was 11, to Nick Bollettieri’s academy. I was sent by our federation on that trip. It was a good trip and we all had some fun with Mr. Nick Bollettieri. I still remember he gave a lesson for the group. It was great exposure for us and for me, it was unbelievable.”