Bengaluru Open: Ramanathan fends off Nardi in thriller

Bengaluru, February 14

Indian Davis Cupper Ramkumar Ramanathan made a remarkable comeback to shock top seed Luka Nardi and enter the quarterfinals of the Bengaluru Open here today. Ramkumar, a wildcard entrant, prevailed over the Italian 1-6 6-4 6-4 in a little over two hours in their pre-quarterfinal match.

The match began with Nardi breaking serve. Ramkumar was not able to offer any kind of fight to his higher-ranked opponent, who was precise with his first serve and ground shots. While Nardi landed 86 percent of his first serve, Ramanathan barely managed to cross 50 percent.

But Ramkumar seemed a totally transformed player in the second set as he engaged Nardi more effectively in rallies, exploring the deeper areas of the court to keep the Italian pinned on the baseline.

Ramkumar also improved his first and second serves, with more zip. Nardi struggled to return Ramkumar’s serves that often breached the 200 kmph barrier. Frustration crept into Nardi’s game as he began to make unforced errors regularly.