CHENNAI: Whenever the Chennai Open comes around the corner, there is a scramble for wildcards. The eagerness to get one is much more rampant among Indians, as hardly any of them, barring Somdev Devvarman, has been in the top hundred for a while.
Despite the recently-retired star reaching the final in 2009 as a wildcard, he was denied the privilege later. For a while, Prakash Amritraj got a wildcard when he chose to play in Chennai, and this year, Ramkumar Ramanathan, the most talented player to emerge from Tamil Nadu, has been bestowed this honour thanks to the TNTA’s generosity.
But tennis legend Ramanathan Krishnan has always been against the idea of giving a wildcard to Indians.
“If need be, I would ask my son Ramesh to qualify and come to the main draw. When you qualify and come to the main draw, you shed your rustiness, get used to conditions and are better prepared for the grind against top players,” said Krishnan.
“In other words, the qualifying rounds help a player get his rhythm, before moving to the centre stage,” added the two-time Wimbledon semifinalist.
That’s exactly what helped qualifier Yuki Bhambri get his rhythm, and demolish Ramkumar 6-1, 6-1 in 51 minutes in a first-round encounter at the Stadium Court of the SDAT Tennis Stadium here.
Ramkumar was rusty and nervous from the beginning. He did not get his serve right, and double faulted under pressure. His movement around court was found wanting, and the 22-year-old conceded a break in the very first game of the match, and thereafter managed to hold serve only once. He played slightly better in the second set, which ran along similar lines.
Yuki played aggressively, coming to the net often, smashing the ball past his opponent, and his drop shots were spot on. The Delhi lad kept outsmarting Ramkumar with his deft placing and pulsating returns. “I’ve recovered well from the injury. I was playing fluently, and credit goes to good practice, while qualifying rounds helped me prepare well,” said Yuki after his win.
Former Davis Cup captain Ramesh Krishnan, who watched the match, complimented Yuki. “He played well, and his serving, volleying and returning were great. His movement, too, was excellent. He meets France’s Benoit Paire next, so let’s see how he does.
If Ramkumar had qualified and come, perhaps he may have been better prepared. But Yuki’s preparation certainly helped him,” observed Ramesh.
Local lad Ramkumar was dejected, and was at a loss of words to describe his defeat. “I did not get the right start, nothing was working and I was missing a lot of passing shots. Yuki is a great player, and I knew he was going to put a lot of pressure on me. He played smart tennis, and placed his shots well,” said Ramkumar.
The other Indian wildcard, Saketh Myneni, was no match for former champ Mikhail Youzhny of Russia, losing 6-4, 6-3. In an earlier match, Aljaz Bedene of Great Britain beat Spain’s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-3, 6-3.
ashok.v@newindianexpress.com