In the Bengaluru Open on Monday, wild card Ramkumar Ramanathan overcame a set down to defeat Frenchman Maxime Janvier 6-7(4), 7-5, 6-4 and move on to the second round. The higher-ranked opponent put pressure on the 29-year-old Indian’s serve in the first two sets, but he maintained composure and pulled off an incredible victory in two hours and 26 minutes, much to the delight of the home crowd. On the first day of the main draw, Croatian third seed Duje Ajdukovic also met his demise; in an hour and thirty minutes, he lost 6-2, 6-4 to Moez Echargui of Tunisia.
The main event of the first day was undoubtedly the fight between Janvier and Ramkumar, with the former riding high on home support to secure a successful campaign opener.
Janvier used his first serve percentage to put pressure on the Indian in the opening set, which was a close match. Janvier won the first set in a tiebreaker.
In the second set, Ramkumar faced more pressure, but he prevailed by saving four break points, breaking Janvier in the eleventh game and sealing the set in the following to force a decider.
With the momentum in his favour, the Indian then broke Janvier early in the third set and then held on to his service games to wrap up the match.
He will now face the winner of the match between top seed Luca Nardi of Italy and Lucky Loser Dan Added of France.
The ATP Challenger tournament is being organised by Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA) and will conclude on January 19.
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