Ramkumar Ramanathan advances in Australian Open qualifiers

The Indian beat France’s Gleb Sakharov 6-4, 7-6 (12) in the second round on Saturday

File photo of Ramkumar Ramanathan (PTI)

Indian tennis star Ramkumar Ramanathan won his second-round qualifying match in straight sets, beating France’s Gleb Sakharov 6-4, 7-6 (12) at the Australian Open qualifiers here today.

Ramkumar, seeded 28th, sealed the match by smashing an ace to advance to the third round. He made the best use of his serves, firing an impressive 17 aces in the tie that lasted close to two hours.

In the previous qualifying game, Ramkumar, edged out American Bradley Klahn 6-7(8), 7-6(3), 6-2 to set up a second-round clash against the Frenchman.