Gutsy Ramkumar Ramanathan rallies into Chennai Open quarterfinals

January 8, 2016

Chennai, Jan 8: A gutsy Ramkumar Ramanathan buried a sluggish start to eke out an inspiring win over Alexander Kudryavtsev and enter the men's singles quarterfinals of the Chennai Open here on Thursday.

Ramkumar

Wild card Ramkumar worked his way to a 3-6 6-4 6-4 win over higher-ranked Russian, who had entered the event as a Lucky Loser. He next plays world no.45 Aljaz Bedene, who defeated Luca Vanni 5-7 6-3 6-4.

The win meant that Ramkumar is now unbeaten in his last 12 matches. He had won two ITF Futures titles at the end of the 2015 season in Gwalior and Mumbai, winning five matches each in the two events.

He had shocked world number 98 Daniel Gimelo-Traver in the first round here and with win today he has entered the quarterfinals of an ATP Tour event for the first time in his career.

Ramkumar changed the complexion of the game after losing the first set with his sheer grit and doggedness. He improved as the match progressed and egged on by the fans, he managed to down a strong opponent.

The Russian had done his homework well and did not allow Ramkumar to play on his big forehand initially. He made Ramkumar run on both the flanks, often forcing the Indian to play his shots running, without getting much time to settle or get into rhythm.

"I was going too fast. I was making him play. Got the confidence through the third set. Alexander is a great player, goes for his shots. He made me run, it was not easy but I found my way," said Ramkumar after the win.

The Russian hit an exquisite forehand service return winner in the first point of the fifth game. Ramkumar struggled with his footwork and two consecutive forehand errors cost him the game. Ramkumar had the chance to return the favour in the next game but lost four points on the trot when the Russian was down 15-40.

The lucky loser kept dictating the points with Ramkumar struggling to get his rhythm and confidence. Serving to stay in the set, Ramkumar committed another error to be down by a set point and hit a cross court backhand wide to hand Kudryavtsev the first set.

Ramkumar could not hit the ball deep, continuously finding the middle of the court from where it was hard to trouble his opponent.

Kudryavtsev was clear with his game plan, hitting everything on Ramkumar's weak backhand and his strategy paid off. The 21-year-old Indian could only keep the ball in play and could never direct the ball to where he would have wanted.

Nevertheless, Ramkumar was all pumped up, never lacking in energy but could not put his game together. The Russian kept his cool and demeanour as he went about his business calmly.

At 3-3 in the second set, the two players put on play a 23-shot rally with Ramkumar winning the point to make it deuce, hanging in for a little opening. A cheeky drop shot by Ramkumar made it third deuce point of the game. Finally Ramkumar earned a breakpoint in that game but the Russian saved it with a big serve. Another forehand error handed the Indian second breakpoint of the match and a double fault by the Russian was all the local hero needed. He was now up a break and consolidated with an easy hold for a 5-3 lead.

A flurry of unforced errors by Kudravtsev, courtesy a seemingly casual approach, handed the Indian set point but eventually the Russian held. Cheered by the home fans, Ramkumar closed the set in his favour when Kudryavtsev netted a backhand.

It was again in the seventh game when Ramkumar nosed ahead. A crushing forehand winner after a long rally sealed it for the Chennai lad. An easy hold and he was leading 5-3. He was bubbling with energy and serving bombs in the range of 200km\h.

There was no stopping him now and he closed the match easily.

Earlier, Italian qualifier Thomas Fabbiano created the biggest upset of the tournament when he ousted sixth seed Gilles Muller of Luxembourg 6-4 7-5 in 77 minutes.

Playing his first match on centre court, Fabbiano gave a fine exhibition of controlled tennis. He meets third seed French Benoit Paire in the quarterfinals tomorrow.

Facing a tough rival in Lukas Rosol, ranked 55, world number 19 Paire had anxious moments throughout the match but remained focused to win 7-5 7-5.

Muller became the second seeded player to have been shown the door after seventh seed Vasek Pospisil lost to unseeded Aljaz Bedene of England yesterday.

Fabbiano was able to beat Muller mainly on his consistent performance while his opponent made a lot of unforced errors, especially on crucial points.

The Italian served superbly to serve out his tenth game at love to win the first set in 30 minutes.

In the second, Muller made amends and broke Fabbiano in the second game but the Italian returned the favour in the very next game. Fabbiano managed to come up with a break in the 11th game and then served out the match.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
June 27,2020

Jun 27: India's Test batting mainstay Cheteshwar Pujara cannot describe in words the influence that Rahul Dravid has had on his life but says he will always remain grateful to him for teaching the importance of switching off from cricket.

Often compared to Dravid, who was considered the 'wall' of Indian cricket, Pujara said he is thankful to Dravid for teaching him how to keep personal and professional lives separate.

"He helped me understand the importance of switching off from cricket. I had the same thought, more or less, but when I spoke to him, it gave me a lot of clarity about it and I was sure of what I needed to do," he told ESPNcricinfo.

"I also saw in county cricket how they keep personal and professional lives separate. I value that advice a lot. Many people consider me to be focused. Yes, I am focused, But I also know when to switch off. There is life beyond cricket."

In his illustrious international career, Dravid amassed 13288 runs in 164 Tests and 10889 runs in 344 ODIs. He also captained India in 79 ODIs, winning 42 of them, which includes the world record of 14 successive wins while chasing.

"I cannot say in one line what Rahul bhai means to me. He has always been an inspiration, and will remain one," Pujara said.

His mental fortitude and batting technique is often compared to Dravid but Pujara said "despite my enchantment with him" he never tried to "copy him."

"There is a similarity in our games, but that's not because of my fascination with him. That came mainly through my experiences with Saurashtra, where I learned that scoring a hundred alone isn't enough, you have to carry your team," he said.

"That is how I learned responsibility - it is about helping my team to raise a big total, and for that I ought to attach importance to my wicket. I learned that from my junior cricket days with Saurashtra, which was a weaker team in domestic cricket."

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
June 15,2020

Melbourne, Jun 15: Star Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja is the best fielder in the game right now, according to Australian batting star Steve Smith, who also rated KL Rahul as the most impressive among the younger crop.

Smith, who answered questions sent in by his fans on Instagram on Sunday, also said the Indian Premier League is his favourite tournament to play in.

Jadeja known for his quick and sharp fielding tactics has earned praise from several former players and respect from the current stars and Smith is no different.

Asked who the best fielder in the current lot of players Smith simply replied stating it was Jadeja.

When quizzed about which Indian player has impressed him the most, the Australian batting mainstay said: "KL Rahul. Very good player!"

Rahul, who has played 36 Tests, 32 ODIs and 42 T20Is for Indian, has become a regular member of the national team in white-ball cricket. Besides showcasing his skills with the willow, Rahul also bears the responsibility of being the wicketkeeper in the limited overs format.

Asked Mahnedra Singh Dhoni, Smith responded saying the former Indian skipper is a "Legend! Mr Cool". While he called the current captain Virat Kohli a "freak" when it comes to batting ability.

The Rajasthan Royals batsman, who rated his first innings his 144 at Birmingham in the first Ashes Test last year as his favourite Test knock till date, said the Indian Premier League (IPL) is his favourite tournament.

"Tough to beat the IPL. Playing with and against the best players from around the world."

India is scheduled to travel to Australian for a full series later the year and the 31-year-old said : "Can''t wait. Going to be awesome."

Asked about his opinion on India batting great Rahul Dravid, Smith said "what a lovely gentleman and seriously good player."

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
January 6,2020

Washington D.C., Jan 6: 'The Irishman,' and 'Two Popes' were shut out from the winners list despite getting multiple nominations, the movies didn't win a single award at the Golden Globes Award held on Sunday (local time). Other movies in the list include 'Bombshell,' 'Dolemite Is My Name,' 'Harriet,' 'Jojo Rabbit,' 'Knives Out' and 'Little Women.'

According to The Hollywood Reporter, 'The Irishman' may have gone into the 2020 Golden Globes with the second-highest number of film nominations, tied with 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' with five nods, but Martin Scorsese's highly anticipated mob epic for Netflix was completely shut out at the award ceremony.

Netflix landed the most film nominations of any company with 17 mentions, but it won only one award which is the best-supporting actress for 'Marriage Story's' Laura Dern. Netflix's nominated films 'Dolemite Is My Name' and 'The Two Popes' was tied with 'Joker' with four mentions each and failed to grab any awards.

'Dolemite Is My Name' star Eddie Murphy was expected by a number of pundits to win for best actor in a motion picture, musical or comedy.

'Bombshell', 'Harriet',' Frozen 2', 'Jojo Rabbit', 'Knives Out', 'The Lion King', 'Little Women' and 'Pain and Glory' are among the other films that received multiple nominations but didn't win a single award.

On the TV side, Netflix's 'Unbelievable' tied in the race to most small-screen nominations with 'Chernobyl' and 'The Crown' with four nominations, and 'The Crown' won only one award, for star Olivia Colman.

The three-time nominees 'Barry', 'Big Little Lies', 'The Kominsky Method' and 'The Morning Show' also didn't grab any award. 'Catch-22', 'Killing Eve', 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel' and 'The Politician' who were two-time nominees that were also iced out.

'Hustlers' star Jennifer Lopez failed to take home the best-supporting actress award as she was predicted to win the award by a number of pundits. Billy porter also failed to make history with the best drama actor win for his role on 'Pose,' if he would've won the award, he reportedly would have been the first openly gay African-American to win that award.

'Chernobyl' won two of its four nominations. Despite that, star Jared Harris didn't win the best actor in a limited series Globe which was predicted by many prognosticators. The award was bagged by Russell Crowe for his portrayal of Roger Ailes in 'The Loudest Voice.' But the star was absent from the ceremony.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.