CHENNAI: 2021 has been eventful for India’s No. 1 ranked singles player Ramkumar Ramanathan as he won his maiden ATP Challenger title in Bahrain last month. Ramkumar is taking a lot of confidence from the win as he kicks off the new season by featuring in the Australian Open qualifiers which starts from January 10.
“I will leave for Australia on Tuesday. The aim is to deliver my best and keep improving,” the 27-year-old said during a felicitation programme organized by Ampa Group here on Monday evening.
Ramkumar — who took 12 years since turning pro to achieve tournament success at the Challenger level — aims to break into the top-100 ranking in 2022. “I just want to be healthy and play a lot of matches like I’ve been doing the last few years. If I can get into the top-100, nothing like that. I believe if I keep playing well and keep growing as a player — I can crack that barrier,” said Ramkumar, currently ranked 184 in the world.
Having been on the circuit for well over a decade, Ramkumar rates the Challenger tournaments as the toughest. “I’ve played the Challenger tournaments as well as ATP events and the difference (in competition levels) is not much. Challengers are tougher, if you ask me. The fire (to win) in each player is a lot more in Challengers. Sometimes, being a seeded player in an ATP tournament — you can get away in a match here or there as they (your opponent) may not try harder. The grind and challenges in a Challenger event are immense,” pointed out Ramkumar.
India will be hosting Denmark in the Davis Cup tie at New Delhi in March 2022. Ramkumar believes India will have an upper-hand in the clash. “Denmark is a strong team with players such as Holger Rune and Mikael Torpegaard. However, we are going to be playing on grass which was a collective decision by the coaches and players. I feel it will work in our favour,” he said.
“I will leave for Australia on Tuesday. The aim is to deliver my best and keep improving,” the 27-year-old said during a felicitation programme organized by Ampa Group here on Monday evening.
Ramkumar — who took 12 years since turning pro to achieve tournament success at the Challenger level — aims to break into the top-100 ranking in 2022. “I just want to be healthy and play a lot of matches like I’ve been doing the last few years. If I can get into the top-100, nothing like that. I believe if I keep playing well and keep growing as a player — I can crack that barrier,” said Ramkumar, currently ranked 184 in the world.
Having been on the circuit for well over a decade, Ramkumar rates the Challenger tournaments as the toughest. “I’ve played the Challenger tournaments as well as ATP events and the difference (in competition levels) is not much. Challengers are tougher, if you ask me. The fire (to win) in each player is a lot more in Challengers. Sometimes, being a seeded player in an ATP tournament — you can get away in a match here or there as they (your opponent) may not try harder. The grind and challenges in a Challenger event are immense,” pointed out Ramkumar.
India will be hosting Denmark in the Davis Cup tie at New Delhi in March 2022. Ramkumar believes India will have an upper-hand in the clash. “Denmark is a strong team with players such as Holger Rune and Mikael Torpegaard. However, we are going to be playing on grass which was a collective decision by the coaches and players. I feel it will work in our favour,” he said.