India's Ramkumar Ramanathan wants to keep going after stunning World No. 8 Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-2 to enter Antalya Open quarter-finals
Ramkumar Ramanathan
India's top singles player Ramkumar Ramanathan yesterday recorded the biggest win of his nascent singles career -- a stunning straight-set 6-3, 6-2 victory over World No. 8 Dominic Thiem in the pre-quarter finals of the Antalya Open here.
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The unheralded Ramkumar, ranked 222 in the world, brushed aside the Austrian challenge in only 59 minutes to make it to the last eight of the USD 439,000 prize-money tournament. This was his first-ever victory over a top-10 player in the ATP rankings. He will face veteran Cyprus star Marcos Baghdatis in the quarter-final.
"I worked really hard for this win," Ramanathan said after the match. "I thank the crowd for coming out and cheering. I like the grass courts as they are fast. I took my chances and it worked out. I am having a great time here and thanks to the organisers," he added.
It was in the eighth game of the second set that the 22-year-old Chennai lad served an ace to finish the match. There was no celebration as he calmly touched the court and shook hands with this year's French Open semi-finalist Thiem.
"I just gave it my best and was serving well out there. Two or three points can often make the difference on grass," Ramanathan was quoted as saying by atpworldtour.com. "It's a good start for my career, but it's just a start. Hopefully I can keep it going," he added.
The tournament has seen a remarkable turnaround from Ramkumar after an unimpressive start to the season that was dogged by poor form.
The strapping Ramkumar hit 10 booming aces and converted three break points, while Thiem only had one chance to break the
Indian, which he failed to convert.
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