Ramkumar qualifies for Chennai Open, faces Somdev in 1st round

Chennai: Living up to the hopes of local fans, young Ramkumar Ramanathan stormed into singles main draw of the Aircel Chennai Open after a hard-fought win over higher-ranked Slovakian Norbert Gombos in the final round of the qualifiers, here on Monday.

Ramkumar, ranked 526, ousted Gombos, who is ranked 197, 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-3 after two hours and six minutes battle. However, he has been pitted against India`s best singles player Somdev Devvarman in his first round match. In a brief chat with newspersons after making the main draw, Ramkumar said, "It was a tough match from the beginning against the Norbert. But I was in control. It was just a couple of points that mattered." Expressing happiness about qualifying for a big international event like Chennai Open, Ramkumar said " I will do my best for my country." He said he would also be playing in the ITF Futures tournaments to be held in Chennai and a few other Indian cities, in February 2013. Talking about his first round match, the Indian said, "I will stick to my strengths and try to win each point and I am not worried about my rival".