Chennai: It showcased the past, present and the future. As the former Davis Cup stars Vijay Amritraj and Anand Amritraj were watching from the sidelines, Ramkumar Ramanathan announced his arrival on the big stage with an upset win over country’s topranked player Somdev Devvarman in the first round of the 19th Chennai Open on Tuesday.
The 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 result achieved after a marathon battle gave enough proof that the future of Indian tennis in safe hands.
Playing his first ever ATP main draw match, qualifier Ramkumar showed no signs of nerves. The local boy was, in fact, playing to the gallery sporting a wide grin. The same crowd that had been rooting for the ‘adopted Chennai boy’ Somdev cheered every unforced error made by the former finalist.
Ramkumar set the tone for the match with a down-the-line forehand and a cross-court pass. The players traded breaks and the younger Indian matched his Davis Cup senior stroke for stroke.
The first set could have gone either way if not for a couple of doublefaults from Ramkumar’s racquet in the ninth game. After squandering four set points, Ramkumar finally made it count to clinch the second set and forced the decider which was a seesaw battle. A superb cross-court forehand winner helped Ramkumar complete the knockout blow.
“He played fearlessly and came up with a lot of adrenaline,” Somdev summed up Ramkumar’s performance.
Earlier, Yuki Bhambri too punched above his weight to reach the second round of the 19th Chennai Open with a 6-4, 6-3 result over promising Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta, who made the biggest jump in ATP rankings (from 715 to 65) last year.
Carreno made two doublefaults to lose his serve in the third game and Yuki reciprocated it immediately as the parity was restored (2-2). With his most potent weapon — forehand — spitting fire, Yuki inflicted a lot of damage to his highly-rated opponent. The Indian stayed with Carreno in the long rallies before dominating the world No.64 with his stinging forehand.
After earning a crucial break in the ninth game, Yuki went on to pocket the first set at 6-4.
The second was rather comprehensive as two breaks of serves -- third and ninth -- sealed the match in Yuki's favour.
Yuki said he was nervous in the beginning. "My initial plan was to stay around for opportunities because I had know clue about his style of play. Once I got the hang of it, I went for his backhand and continued to hit that flank," said Yuki who is scheduled to play third seed Fabio Fognini in the second round on Thursday.
Yuki could find an easy passage through third round as the Italian is nursing his strained left leg. Fognini announced his pull out from the doubles draw with Leander Paes on Tuesday.
Russian qualifier Alexander Kudryavtsev pulled off the first upset of the tournament when he knocked out last year's runner-up Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in a match that lasted almost two hours. Frenchman Edouard Roger Vasselin and Slovenian Aljaz Beden were the others to progress.
Results (Round 1): Ramkumar Ramanathan bt Somdev Devvarman 4-6, 6-3, 6-4; Alexander Kudryavtsev (Rus) bt Roberto Bautista Agut (Spa) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3; Edouard Roger Vasselin (Fra) bt Albert Ramos (Fra) 6-1, 6-3; Aljaz Bedene (Slo) bt Henri Laaksonen (Sui) 6-3, 5-7, 7-6.
When racquets bear the brunt of players’ fury
When racquets bear the brunt of players’ fury
Chennai: Tempers are bound to fly in gripping tennis matches, but it’s the racquet that suffers collateral damage. If there had been an award for breaking the most number of racquets, volatile Russian Marat Safin would have won it hands down. His compatriot Mikhail Youzhny, who is the second seed at the Chennai Open, is marching ahead with the torch in hand leaving a trail of mangled graphite and twisted gut.
Youzhny once required medical attention during a match after smashing his racquet on to his forehead. At the 2013 French Open, he whacked his racquet nine times — as per YouTube evidence — on the back of his chair en route to his fourth round defeat against Tommy Haas.
“Whenever I break my racquet it’s to force some changes in my game. It has worked sometimes and helped make a comeback,” said Youzhny.
Benoit Paire, seeded No.4 here, is also a leading member of the racquet abusers’ club. Paire, hates bottling up emotions, says breaking racquets is “a stress buster”. “When the going gets tough and if you are playing really bad, you get an urge to give vent to your frustration.
The closest and the safest option is breaking your own racquet,” said Paire adding that the violent method of letting out one’s feelings could affect the opponent’s concentration.
According to Paire, “matches sometimes turned on their head in favour of those smashing racquets.”
The Frenchman, however, has taken a pledge for the new season: not to dismantle his weapon anymore.
“I know it shows me in poor light and it’s not a good advertisement for my sponsors either. I have been working on mental toughness with my coach,” said Paire.
Veteran tennis official Gerry Armstrong who has seen the tantrums of John McEnroe and Goran Ivanisevic up close says racquet abuse is a punishable offence after a first warning. “It’s natural to let off a little bit of steam and there is no harm if it remains between the player and his racquet.
If it becomes a little more dangerous, then there is a different code of action to deal with it,” said Gerry.
Even top pros such as Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have occasionally been found guilty of throwing their racquets to the floor.
But Rafael Nadal remains the only big name not to take on his key tool. “My uncle and coach Toni has always insisted I behave well on court and never throw a racquet in anger, something I have never ever done. My parents always imposed a lot of discipline on me, from table manners to greeting people,” wrote Nadal in his autobiography Rafa: My Story.
Pakistan’s doubles specialist Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi takes pride from the fact that he has broken the racquet only once in his career. “It was at the 2013 US Open after I lost a match. I hope it remains the first and last time. If breaking racquets is permitted on court, more players are going to do that,” said Aisam.
Volunteers are on the ball at Chennai Open
Volunteers are on the ball at Chennai Open
Chennai: People working behind-the-scenes are critical to the success of any sporting event. The Chennai Open also has its share of unsung heroes who work tirelessly round-the-clock to ensure the smooth conduct of the annual tennis festival. Deccan Chronicle spoke to a particular group of volunteers, drawn from various colleges in the city, to know more about how they cater to the needs of the most important group at the Open — players.
Surya Nandhan Rajendhiran, a third year economics student of Loyola, is on his maiden year of volunteer service. He is “enjoying” his work. Surya’s day starts at around 9 am when he reports to the main desk. “We are assigned our responsibilities depending on the number of volunteers available. Our main job is to supply the players water, tennis balls, ice-packs, etc.,” he said.
Volunteers belonging to Surya’s batch are also responsible for setting up the courts for matches and practice sessions. Deva Bharathi Michael, a second year commerce student of MCC, is in charge of outside courts. “We need to arrange chairs for the line umpires and players besides ensuring that a refrigerator is stocked with water and energy drinks. We also keep an eye on player essentials such as towels and umbrellas. Setting up scoreboards on outside courts is part of our work,” said Deva.
The bonus for Deva, who is into his second year as volunteer, is watching action at close quarters. “Being a player myself, I relish the opportunity. I’m here after my coach recommended my name to the organisers. Knowledge of the game is important to do on-court service,” Deva said.
Another important section is the travel desk. Suhail, an engineering student from Crescent Engineering College, is responsible to make travel arrangements for players, coaches and officials. “The official travel sponsor has allotted 12 cars that are primarily used to ply players from hotel to the stadium and vice versa,” he said, even as he noted down the car number that had just arrived from the hotel on his log sheet.
The excitement of interacting with some of the big names in the game is the perk every volunteer in this category is guaranteed. Surya loves watching matches of his favourite players. “I also like the opportunity to shake hands with players and get their autographs at the end of day’s work,” he said. The youngster is a fan of Indian ace Somdev Devvarman.
