PUNE: Marin Cilic is the big guy on the campus, with an even bigger reputation for monster serves. And the top seed started on point, with an ace at 216 kph. The sheer pace and fizz on the ball gave a glimpse of how the game is played on the higher planes of tennis. Cilic didn’t drop a single point on serve for the first three games, and won the first 15 of 16 points on his serve.
At the other end, India’s Ramkumar Ramanathan kept the fight going, serving and volleying gustily. But the gulf in class proved impossible to bridge.
Cilic, who had lost at the same stage in last year’s Chennai Open, put on a confident, aggressive show to defeat Ramanathan 6-4, 6-3 in the second round of the Tata Open Maharashtra at the Balewadi Sports Complex on Wednesday.
Ramanathan’s defeat brought an end to India’s challenge in singles, as the country’s top-ranked player Yuki Bhambri had lost earlier in the day. The 25-year-old failed to convert seven of his eight-break point opportunities to go down 6-4, 3-6, 4-6 to France’s Pierre-Hugues Herbert.
Playing his second match within 24 hours, Bhambri struggled to get into a hitting rhythm. In World No 81 Herbert, he was up against an opponent who had recently helped his team win in the Davis Cup final.
Herbert likes to describe himself as “primarily a singles player”, but he is more accomplished in doubles. He has won two men’s doubles Grand Slams and was once ranked as high as No 2 in the world. His sharp volleys cut through Bhambri’s rallying patterns.
But more importantly, it was his clutch serves that bailed him out time and again. Twice in the deciding set, Herbert was down 0-40. Even though Bhambri lacked the knockout punch, it was Herbert’s pacy, accurate serves which kept him in the game. The tournament also lost one of its biggest draws, with the defeat of Roberto Bautista Agut. Unhappy with the conditions at the new venue, Bautista Agut put up on a semblance of a fight before being outplayed 3-6, 6-7 by France’s Gilles Simon.
But the clash between Ramanathan and Cilic was the most-awaited one for the day. Two-time Chennai Open champion Cilic felt that Pune was better in terms of conditions. “It’s cooler and not as humid. These are almost perfect conditions for playing tennis, with no wind.”
The Croat gave Ramanathan a taste of life in tennis’ fast lane. He served nine aces, but it was the pace and depth he got on his ground-strokes that sent the Indian on the back foot. Ramanathan was egged on by the crowd. He even broke the World No 6’s serve once. But couldn’t take him down.
deepti@newindianexpress.com