The Indian players at the 2016 Wimbledon qualifying had mixed fortunes as Ramkumar Ramanathan entered the second round but Saketh Myneni crashed out on Tuesday. 21-year-old Ramanathan had a tough encounter against the 241st ranked Marek Michalika but he managed to eke out the 7-5, 6(2)-7, 6-4 win in the end. In a contest that did not see too many breaks of serve, it was only one break in each of the first and the third sets that awarded the win to the Indian.
The match duration was 2 hours 10 minutes. The World No. 231 has a tough task up next as he faces the 21st seed Daniel Brands in the next round on Wednesday.
Myneni had served for the match
Saketh Myneni’s 6-4, 6(2)-7, 1-6 loss was heartbreaking. The World No. 127, seeded 30th, was ahead by a set and a break against the 205th ranked Tristan Lamasine of France which he squandered. The 28-year-old had been grappling with a shoulder injury recently because of which he is yet to regain his full fitness.
It is hard to say how much that contributed to the loss but the Indian did have a chance to win the match when he served for it at 6-4, 5-4. Unfortunately after conceding the second set in a tie-break, Saketh could never recover as his younger opponent’s confidence simply kept on soaring.
Lamasine finally closed out the win in 1 hour 36 minutes.
Also read: Wimbledon: 10 greatest matches in history
Sharan/Raja also in action on Wednesday
The doubles duo of Divij Sharan and Purav Raja will also be in action on Wednesday. The Indian pair, seeded fourth, had been in impeccable form coming into this tournament as they captured two consecutive Challenger titles on grass.
Earlier Sharan and Raja had qualified for Wimbledon doubles in 2013 and they begin their campaign against the all-German combine of Dustin Brown and Jan-Lennard Struff.
