Asia-Australia ATP Challengers 2022

[jayakris]

Who is coaching Mukund now? His footwork is really flawed and it is causing him all kinds of problems, if I am not mistaken. Just go to 57:33 in the match tape, at 63 21, on his serve at 30-0. He did a decent second serve on which NN hit a very good return. Mukund shouldn't have had that much trouble running to his forehand side to reach the return shot. The footwork, ill-timed racket stretching, lunging - everything looks wrong to me. This is the kind of lack of smoothness I was talking about. That point was part of the reason the game went to his first BP (though he held in the end). I see the footwork issues very often at the baseline. Mukund constantly struggles with his running. It is the kind of thing that can be fixed. Again, who is coaching him now?

[jayakris]

^^^ It looks like Martin Spottl, former top-200 player, is still Mukund's coach. He certainly knows much more tennis than me. So, maybe the running issues are being worked on, or maybe I am making a bigger deal of it than it is.

[Rajiv]

And Ram's qualifier opponent has been decided , #364 ranked Colin Sinclair of Northen Marina Island.
Although on paper an unknown qualifier , but just a week ago in Kobe, Colin lost a close 3 setter to the top seed Chris O'Connell with all the 3 sets going to the TB's in a match which could have gone either way , so definitely not a match which can be taken for granted.

[Rajiv]

By virtue of his R1 win in the live rankings Mukund becomes Indian #1 @ 338, Prajnesh is #2 @ 346 and a R1 win will make him the #1, so a see saw battle between the both of them to claim the 1 spot.

Ram mean while as expected drops to an embarrassing #424 in the live rankings.

[jayakris]

I don''t know what to say. A 26 26 loss, and RamK has basically lost his mind. Totally. Just a mental wreck. I feel bad for him, but he has to take some decisions himself, and somebody needs to advise him to really take a hard look into things and do what is needed to fix problems.

At the Challenger 80 in Yokkaichi, Japan (Hard):

[R1] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,280) l. (Q) Colin Sinclair (NMI,364), 26 26

[Sanjay]

What a tame loss to a no-name player.

I think RR is done. Just play doubles from now on.

[Rajiv]

So Ram cements his place in his new home of #424 and will fall further next week when 7 more points drop off.
Not only the losses are shocking but Total lack of fight and application in matches that too against ordinary journeyman is very perplexing.

But all this will be out behind and forgoten as next week in India starts an IPL type jamboree, where the players will be treated and honored, feted like royalty and like Alcaraz as if they have set the circuit on fire.
And all this fake adulation simply goes into the players head and is very counterproductive.

[jayakris]

I was in class and he was down 26 03 already when I started watching. He actually played quite well for several points in a 4-game stretch there to hold serve twice, and he had Sinclair at deuces and BPs in 2 successive games to 2-5... Sinclair was even showing some nerves and disbelief in a couple of DFs in that 7th game too. But then it got embarrassing. RamK double faults, questions line calls, and all the usual mess. Just at the time when he should be focusing on somehow extending the match. Okay, I could understand getting angry at a close call on a first serve, but come on Ram, you know they are human and can make a mistake on high-speed serve... Not the first time you have seen that. You need to let that go. But what happened at 0-15 on his serve in the final game was truly unbelievable. He tried two first serves to the right corner, which were lets. He tries a third one to the same point and it might have been in, but it was called out. He screamed. But this is a point in the game where you just need to keep your mind totally fixed on the job at hand, as he couldn't afford to go down 0-30 on a poor second serve - certainly not a double fault. Put a damn second serve in. Like an immature and crazy macho kid who wanted to prove something, he tried a second serve yet again to the same spot. 4 serves to that same corner. This time it was 2 feet out. How can you be this immature at age 28? Then he goes to the umpire and says stuff like "you tell me how I can play" etc. It makes no sense. Try to serve and win the game, and you still have your serve. But no, he double faults again, after trying one more to that corner which was into the net, and the match ended on a DF too. Hello, you forgot that you are allowed to serve right down the line, and that you have got aces all your life that way? What is wrong with you, man??

I want to be sympathetic to him, and REALLY want to see RamK make a comeback, but I know it is not going to happen unless somebody (whom he respects and listens to) really puts some sense into him. Things are only getting worse, and as far as I am concerned RamK is done in his career, barring intervention from elsewhere. He still has some good tennis in him, but his mind is totally in distress. So sad to see somebody who was once such a promising and talented tennis player from India, going away like this. I may sound like I am writing an obituary. I don't want it to be one, but I see no light at the end of the tunnel right now.

[jayakris]

I think RR is done. Just play doubles from now on.

I don't know about even that. I doubt if doubles will work out, the way he is playing. Either get help from a real guru or psychiatrist to get his mind in order, or stop playing tennis. He isn't doing anything well in doubles either right now. The last few times I saw him play, he was horrible in doubles too. He is mentally very confused, with no confidence in anything, and it shows.

[Rajiv]

For Ram to work out in Dbls he needs a stabilizing strong player who controls the entire proceedings and Ram plays the supporting role, which we saw in those 500 Boppanna fuelled points, so unless he finds a proven stable partner and with a long term commitment it will the same script which has been played out throughout this year where he has teamed up with random 15 odd guys.

And also it is not fair on Boppanna too, to just let him go especially when Ram bailed him(Rohan)in Adelaide where Rohan had nowhere to go, and apart from that incident even a VA, RK type approach to support fellow countryman was simply missing for even just 1 more tournament and on many occasions Ram's effort were in vain to consolidate and improve upon his top 100 entry in Dbls

[jayakris]

^^ Totally agree with what you say there. Both on the stabilizing partner that RamK needs, and on Bops not really helping. But he is probably at an age where he just didn't want to take on a project, which is what RamK is.

[jayakris]

And Gunner went down after another high-quality match against Uchida. Actually, Gunner was rather steady through the match, though Uchida was a bit up and down. The story was really that 8th game in the third set, when both Gunner and Uchida came up with some tremendous shots. The match was won on a superb lob by Uchida on what seemed like a sure winner from Gunner in that game, which helped him get the timely break.

Once again, I have no complaints after watching a Prajnesh match. He is still no-nonsense. Still plays smooth and intelligent tennis, clearly at a top-200 level. His ability to vary his shots and trouble the opponents is fun to watch, as always. Still has power, and he is moving a bit better than I saw a few weeks ago. He served 9 aces without a double fault today. So all is good. He has been a bit unlucky in running into players who have played well against him in the recent losses. A bit more accuracy on some of those forehand shots would be good, and he can always work on that forehand retrieval shots, but otherwise Gunner is just fine. Take a break and come back with a bang next year, Prajnesh. Don't worry.

[R1] Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,347) l. (1) Kaichi Uchida (JPN,165), 36 61 36

[Rajiv]

Was doing everything right until 7th game of the final set and was even comfortablely up 30 love , but a clever drop shot at 30 all drawing PG to the net and then getting lobbed to be BP down and with this the momentum suddenly shifted.

But still nearly pulled it off and bit unlucky to loose.

[jayakris]

^^^ Yeah, Uchida just got his shots to fall right in that final service game from PG. They both had good shots there, but Uchida did one more than PG, really. Unfortunate. Well, it happens. What can we say.

I am just glad to see Prajnesh playing positive tennis, and playing seriously with purpose these days. For a while, ever since his marriage, I thought he was losing focus in tennis. Not so, and that is nice to see. I didn't want to see him pull a Somdev on us and retire!

[sameerph]

With that loss of Prajnesh and Sumit's loss in Europe, Mukund is confirmed to be new India #1 next week in singles. Hope he can make it top 300. Apart from this week, he has entered M25 in Tunisia and M15 in Egypt the week after.