How many times have we heard ‘Game, Set and Match’ in favour of an Indian player in singles in an international ATP-level tournament in recent times? World No. 222 Ramkumar Ramanathan made every Indian tennis fan’s long-awaited dream come true at the Antalya Open in Turkey on Tuesday when he ousted the eighth-ranked Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-2 in the second round.
Considering Thiem was the top seed and had begun his grass season on the back of a stunning clay swing where he reached the French Open semi-finals, this was a momentous feat indeed.
What is even more remarkable is the fact that the Indian had not played a grass tournament since last July whereas the Austrian was coming off a pre-quarter-final appearance at the Gerry Weber Open held just last week. But in a classic case of David upstaging Goliath, it was the Indian, who fired 10 aces past his illustrious opponent, that entered the quarter-finals of the ATP 250 event.
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Ramkumar did not get broken at all and saved the solitary break point he faced while making in-roads into the Thiem serve thrice. And he finished it off in style, slamming his final ace of the match on Match Point to leave a stunned Thiem with no answer!
Look at the sheer delight on his face after his win and the shutterbugs all focussing on his face – a rare sight for Indian tennis fans and a moment to cherish for a long time.
Ramkumar has put Indian tennis on a lofty pedestal with this achievement. It follows Rohan Bopanna’s French Open mixed doubles title and Leander Paes’ Ilkley Challenger win in what has been a purple patch for Indian tennis over the last few weeks.
The 22-year-old next faces the former Australian Open runner-up Marcos Baghdatis for a place in the semi-finals.
Let us hope he gives Indian fans a chance to hear the coveted ‘Game, Set and Match’ once again.
