Paes-ramanathan
PUNE: Ramkumar Ramanathan was just two years old when Leander Paes had last taken part in an ATP Challenger in India. However, at the Balewadi Sports Complex on Wednesday, the veteran teamed up well with the 21-year-old to beat the unseeded pair of Anvit Bendre and Sidharth Rawat 6-3, 6-4 in the first round of the doubles fixtures at the US $50000 KPIT-MLSTA ATP Challenger.
Taking part in a Challenger in India after 19 years, all eyes were on Leander Paes as he walked onto the center court with a young Ramkumar Ramanathan by his side. Seeded second, the duo didn’t disappoint the 200-odd crowd in the stands as they wrapped up the game in just 53 minutes.
Paes and Ramanathan were cruising right from the start and earned an early break to lead 2-0. Ramanathan’s game was an improved version of what he displayed while crashing out of the singles draw earlier in the day. His big serves were difficult for Bendre and Rawat, who desperately tried to hold on to their serve and hope for a miracle. Their efforts, though, could only manage the crowd to cheer for them for a while, before switching sides to back the fancier team.
The first set ended in just 23 minutes with Paes-ramanathan complimenting each other. “We just played freely and didn’t put too much pressure on ourselves. I never had the pressure of pairing up with a player of his stature,” Ramanathan said after the game. His senior partner, heaped praise on him for his on-field brilliance. “It isn’t like he always follows what I ask him to. There were situations in this game where he asked me to follow a specific style and routine and I readily obliged.”
NEW PARTNER
Ramanathan is the 110th player Paes has paired with. “I could have brought any other regular partner with whom I play on the tour, but to support Ram and play with him was great fun. We both communicate a lot, he keeps asking me for advice regarding his tours, technical aspects of the game and so on,” he said.
Having paired with Saketh Myneni last month in the Davis Cup, Paes explained his choice given that Myneni is also taking part in the tourney. “I played with Saketh in the Davis Cup and it would have been great had I got a chance to play with him here. At the moment, Saketh’s a bit injured. Recently, he pulled out of the singles and doubles fixtures as well. So I knew he was going to focus only on his singles fixture. Since Ram was looking for a partner, I approached and he readily agreed.”
Paes also said Ramanathan was allowed a free role. “We won the first set comfortably with two breaks, and he came up to me and said ‘Let’s play eye-formation.’ I was completely taken aback but then I agreed. This is what I like about him. He’s always trying to learn, try new things on court and keeps a tab on his equipment. I can jump at the net whereas his returns are brilliant. That’s the combination that kept us going,” he said.
STILL GOING STRONG
The second set was a far more equal contest with Bendre and Rawat holding their serves. Their efforts were far more than what the scoreline may suggest with even Paes lauding the duo’s fighting nature.
Brushing aside speculations of calling it a day, Paes said: “My target at this stage of my career, I feel it’s also my job, is to motivate these youngsters, help them with their Grand Slams. I’m hungry and passionate about the game. We need to create passion for tennis and who knows; maybe 10 years down the line someone can win an Olympic medal for us.”
Paes confirmed that this would be his last tournament for the year as he wasn’t looking to stretch himself. “It was a rough year for me and I would like to take a break to settle down. I play the game simply because I’m passionate about the game. If I’m playing with my daughter in Bombay, it’s because I like playing with him. The same goes for if I’m playing it with my father or anyone else.
“I’m quite excited to see the number of youngsters who’re taking up tennis. I mean there are so many options to choose a doubles partner. At this day and age one has to be mentally strong. The physical part of the game, the technical skills are pre-requisites but to be mental strong is what is going to help at the end of the day.”