Indian tennis’ purple patch continues. Rohan Bopanna’s maiden Grand Slam title at the French Open and Leander Paes’ Ilkley Challenger win were followed by yet another incredible feat – this time in singles – as World No. 222 Ramkumar Ramanathan shocked the top seed and World No. 8 Dominic Thiem to enter the quarter-finals of the Antalya Open in Turkey on Tuesday.
The Indian qualifier needed just 59 minutes to deliver the stunning 6-3, 6-2 victory over the 2017 French Open semi-finalist for his biggest career win. Ramanathan thundered 10 aces to Thiem’s four on the slick grass and made 63% of his first serves.
What made a huge difference was his ability to convert crucial break points as well as save the solitary break point he faced.
In the first set, the Indian broke once which was enough for him to seal the set, 6-3.
In the second set, Ramkumar played a flawless brand of tennis, breaking Thiem twice and crushing the Austrian’s only chance of a break back.
“I worked really hard for this,” Ramkumar said in the post-match interview. “Thank you to the crowd for coming out and cheering. I like the grass. Courts are fast. I took my chances and it worked out. I’m having a great time here and thanks to all the organisers,” he added.
Ramkumar in sensational form at this tournament
Ramkumar had been in sensational form at this tournament. He had qualified for the ATP 250 event, blanking Russia’s Andrey Yakovlev, 6-0, 6-0 in the first round of qualifying. He then followed it up with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Belgium’s Yannick Mertens in the final round.
In the first round of the main draw, he got the better of World No. 68 Rogerio Dutra Silva, 6-3, 6-4, slamming 12 aces past the Brazilian.
This is the second time in his career that the lanky Indian had reached the last-eight stage at any ATP event. The only time he achieved it was at the 2016 Chennai Open at home.
Ramkumar will next take on World No. 79 and former Australian Open runner-up Marcos Baghdatis for a place in the semi-finals.
