Chennai Open: Yuki Bhambri humbles Ramkumar Ramanathan

The ball that would have hit him square in the chest, landed sweetly on his racquet for a volley that took him 15-30 up in the first set, which he already led 5-1. He celebrated by pointing at the spot on his chest the ball was meant to hit. It was the theme throughout the evening – Bhambri had forced Ramkumar to try all his tricks — but still come out second best.

A serve, measured at 201 kmph, a few points later dragged Bhambri to the far side of his ad-court. But the 24-year-old powered a return cross-court backhand shot that landed well within the baseline. A stunned Ramkumar never expected the return. First set to Bhambri.

In another 25 minutes, Bhambri cleared out the match 6-1, 6-1 to move to the second round of his first ATP event since February last year owing to a six-month injury layoff.

Going into the Chennai Open, his ranking dropped to 532, forcing him to start the tournament as a wild card in the qualifying rounds. Still, the class was there.

With the trademark attacking play from the baseline, he won both his qualifiers in straight sets. Against Ramkumar though, there was an added dimension to his game —the frequent approaches to the net.

At break point in the very first game of the match, Bhambri floated down to the net to punch a backhand volley to the 22-year-old’s ad-court side. Ramkumar reached, but couldn’t recover. It wasn’t the last time it would happen in the game. “It wasn’t premeditated. I had opportunities to come to the net. The short balls were there to be hit,” he said.

What was alarming about the result was the ease with which Ramkumar allowed Bhambri to sail past him.

For a player whose most dominant skill is his forehand, it failed him against Bhambri. The depth in his strokes was missing, inviting Bhambri to take advantage at the net. On the shots he managed to get power on, the ball sat in positions comfortable for his opponent to hit a return winner.

Stagnated growth

Davis Cup coach Zeeshan Ali had his own assessment of Ramkumar’s progress. “He has the game, the physique. The mental aspect needs to be worked on. He needs to start playing bigger tournaments (ATP or Challengers),” he said.

In December, the world number 227 played, and won, two Futures tournaments. “He’s great in the Futures and wins almost all that he plays. But the moment he steps out of it is where he struggles. He needs to mix it up.”

At 22 now, Ramkumar has already broken into the Davis Cup team – his debut last year coming at the expense of the absent Bhambri. He has proven himself to be a big match player, reaching the quarterfinals of the Chennai Open last year, and beating India’s then top singles player Somdev Devvarman in the 2014 edition.

Yet, he hasn’t managed to find consistency in his performances. “We’ve been talking about him for the last few years, as a player with all the potential. But he hasn’t been able to break in. The next two years are crucial because this is the time he needs to be playing at the top of his game,” Ali said.

Adding further to the intrigue, Ramkumar announced in the pre-match press conference that he will be taking the next month off to allow him time to train.

Not much could be said against Bhambri’s play though. He’s returned to Chennai for the first time since the 2015 edition when he crashed out in the qualifiers. He’s carrying a leaner look now with added sting to each shot. He sports a brace under his right elbow – a symbol of the elbow injury that cut him away for half a year in 2016.

But his performance against Ramkumar was a signal of his returning intent.

Myneni bows out

Saketh Myneni, a wild card like Ramkumar, resisted world number 57 Mikhail Youzhny before coping a 4-6 3-6 defeat. Myneni was neck-and-neck with Youzhny in the first set which went on serve for nine games. Serving to stay in the set, Myneni served a double fault at 40-30 for a decue, saved three set points but netted a forehand on the fourth. From there, it was a slide for the Indian and an easy ride for the Russian.

Results: Rogerio Dutra Silva (Brazil) bt Dusan Lajovic (Serbia) 7-6(2) 4-6 7-6(3); 7-Mikhail Youzhny (Russia) bt Saketh Myneni 6-4 6-3; 5-Benoit Paire (France) bt Konstantin Kravchuk (Russia) 6-3 6-4; Yuki Bhambri bt Ramkumar Ramanathan 6-1 6-1; 8-Lu Yen-Hsun (Taiwan) bt Radu Albot (Moldova) 6-2 6-1; Aljaz Bedene (Britain) bt Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (Spain) 6-3 6-3; Renzo Olivo (Argentina) bt Casper Ruud (Norway) 7-6(3) 6-2