Making waves in singles again
Yuki Bhambri is ranked 86th and Ramkumar 115th in men’s singles as they turn the focus back to singles after two decades of doubles rule
MUMBAI: Ramkumar Ramanathan’s run to the final of the Hall of Fame Championship in Newport (USA) has brought into focus the recent resurgence of Indians in men’s singles tennis after a slump, and revived memories of the golden era when players from the country would not only figure in the top-100 but also win singles titles on the ATP World Tour.
En route to the final in Newport, Ramkumar defeated two top-100 players — 86th-ranked Denis Kudla of the United States and the 98-ranked Vasek Pospisil of Canada. He came close to becoming the first Indian to win a singles title on the ATP Tour since Leander Paes won it 20 years ago in 1998. However, Ramkumar lost to World No 48 Steve Johnson of the United States, 5-7, 6-3, 2-6 after putting up a tough fight. It was a great result for the 23-year-old as not many Indians can claim to have played in a ATP finals — the last was Somdev Devvarman who lost to South Africa’s Kevin Anderson in the Johannesburg Open final in 2011.
BREAKTHROUGH YEARS
Ramkumar’s runners-up finish in Newport was the best result for India in singles play at the senior level in recent times --- a welcome relief considering the country’s top stars have ruled the doubles circuit with Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi winning multiple doubles titles – in Grand Slams and ATP Tour.
With there being no proper system in the country that could present talented players a path towards the top 100 in the rankings, Indian players have found it difficult to make waves in singles. There have been very few occasions when two Indians have been ranked in the top hundred — Vijay and Ashok Amritraj doing it regularly in the 70s and Jasjit Singh joining them in a top-100 for some time. Sashi Menon and Ramesh Krishnan too joined Vijay for some time in the elite list.
Ramanathan Krishnan achieved the best singles record for Indians, winning 55 titles and rising to No 6 in the unofficial rankings. Vijay Amritraj bagged 16 singles titles and during his prime, was called along with Bjorn Borg and Jimmy Connors as the ABC of tennis. Ramesh Krishnan kept the flag flying, winning eight singles titles and Paes took on the mantle, adding an Olympic bronze (Atlanta 1996) to his lone singles title.
SUCCESS IN DOUBLES
However, the tide turned from 1998-99 onwards with Paes, along with Bhupathi, charting a path in doubles. Though most Indian players from the time of Ramanathan Krishnan dabbled in doubles play, Paes and Bhupathi took it to the next level, winning multiple Grand Slam titles and reaching the top in doubles rankings. Paes has so far won eight doubles and 10 mixed doubles titles while Bhupathi has three doubles and 11 mixed doubles titles.
The focus in the last couple of years has shifted to singles with players like Yuki Bhambri, Ramkumar and Prajnesh Gunneswaran doing well. All three have defeated players in the top-50 with Ramkumar’s upset of Dominic Thiem, ranked eighth at that time, at the Antalya Open in July 2017, the biggest singles win for an Indian male player in the last decade.
India has three singles players in top200 in the latest list — Yuki Bhambri is 86th, Ramkumar at 115 and Gunneswaran at 186, his cause no doubt helped by a stunning win against Denis Shapovalov in the Mercedes Cup last month.
Their resurgence has raised hopes of two Indians making it to the top 100 in singles rankings once again. But can more Indians join them at the top level?