Maharashtra Open, Pune, ATP 250, Jan 2-7, 2023

[Rajiv]

They had so much promise but what can we do when they cant get along (or whatever was the deal)....

Jay if they couldn't get along like LP/MB then it was logical to let it go as you say , but here it is a unilateral decision which is confounding as Ram was ready to play anytime anywhere.

[jayakris]

^^ I guessed that was the case, but then RamK shows some volatility (more like immaturity) on court that might have made Bops think that he didnt want any part in that. Just a guess from me. If so maybe RamK should take it as a learning experience and move on. If he is good enough to be in the doubles top 50, which I think he is, he will get there somehow eventually - as long as he controls himself on court and focuses on his game. Bops is not the only player whom he can win with. Let the racquet do the work and not words on court. Stop getting on the opponents' nerves. Just keep his mouth absolutely shut on court and play. That is all he needs to do. Then there will be no problem with partners. Bops is anyway going to play only a year or two more. RamK has a decade of doubles in front if he wants. He should move on rather than worry over milk spilt in the past, whether by his fault or others'.

Jay

[Rajiv]

^^^,Yes Jay fully agree with you on the talking part which is totally uncalled for and unlike Ram.

In the meantime the Draw is out and no luck as Ram draws #62 Pedro Martinez,but who knows, first match of the year for the higher ranked and could be rusty and if Ram in his element, then who knows

Let's go Ram!!!

[Rajiv]

Looking at the Spaniard record baring a QF in Tokyo in October has lost 10 of his R1 matches since August 22, so a good chance for Ram to capiltalise on his opponents poor form.

[Omkara]

Let's not built so much hope on RamK. He is known to be volatile. Let's accept him making to MD as good enough result. Anything from here will be a great result.

[PKBasu]

An excellent win from Ramkumar to qualify into the main draw the hard way, with two upsets of seeds:

[Q2] WC-Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND, 434) d. 3-Mattia Bellucci (ITA, 153) 63 75

Which brings up:

[R1] Q-Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND, 434) vs. Pedro Martinez (ESP, 62).

Not easy. but a good chance for RamK to pull off a big win against a mainly-clay court player.

[arjun2761]

Hope that Ramk can at least win one more round. He is a streaky player who needs to win points when he plays well. Right now, despite the impressive wins, he has only collected 12 points. Another 20 or 45 points would be nice.

[sameerph]

Yes, when on a good streak, RamK can pretty much beat anyone barring maybe top 50 players and when he is on a bad streak he can lose to a player ranked outside top 500. Last year even during his worst year on tour, he manage to qualify for ATP main draw for 2 tournaments with some very good wins. It is good for him though, last year his first win came in the month of May and now he gets 2 wins in first 2 days of the year. Anything more this week will be bonus.

Today, 15 year old Manas Dhamne had a decent scoreline of 26 46 in a loss against 113th ranked Michael Mmoh. That is quite impressive for a 15 year old making his debut at this level. I thought he is going to get rolled over.

Sumit plays 6th Krajinovic after some time.

[jayakris]

Sumit got broken once early in the first set, saved 5 other break attempts on him, but could not force a single break point, as he lost the first set 4-6

But... Just like that, after the games went with serves till 5-4 in the second set with Krajinovic serving 40-15 to even it up, Sumit won FOUR points i a row, forcing the first BP on Krajinovic and converting it! WHOA!! All even 46 64 00

Take the free points on aces (5 by FK and 2 by SN) and DFs (0 by FK, 2 by SN), it is 55 points won by FK and 54 points by Sumit when the ball was in play. Sumit is certainly playing at a high level. Can he keep this up and pull off an upset?

[PKBasu]

One set all (46 64) in Sumit's R1 match against Krajinovic.

[Rajiv]

Sumit out in 3 sets , not before giving the 6th seed a huge fright.
Infact after the initial unsettled period Sumit looked a better player and grew in confidence as the match progressed until an risky over ambitious drop shot in the 9th game of S3 changed the complexion and the Serbian took full control.

Seems to have added power in his serve and if can maintain the same level of play for the comming months , could well see a turnaround and crown himself # 1 Indian over Ram & Prajnesh.

So depressing to see near empty stadium that too with a home player on court, nowhere in the world one can see such a embarrassing sight at a ATP 250 and tickets are also priced ridiculously cheap at Rs150, 500

[suresh]

So depressing to see near empty stadium that too with a home player on court, nowhere in the world one can see such a embarrassing sight at a ATP 250 and tickets are also priced ridiculously cheap at Rs150, 500

If it is anything like Chennai, sponsors and corporates nab all the season passes. There are not too many daily tickets on offer and it is hard to buy them as they get sold out fast. Those are not used in the early rounds. Crowds progressively increase in the later rounds. My guess is that SF/F should see full house.

[Rajiv]

^^ Tickets are easily available on the tournament website, and thats where noticed the pricing which I mentioned ,as you said ,hope the latter stages draw crowds and accord due status to a ATP 250

[Sanjay]

Sumit out in 3 sets , not before giving the 6th seed a huge fright.
Infact after the initial unsettled period Sumit looked a better player and grew in confidence as the match progressed until an risky over ambitious drop shot in the 9th game of S3 changed the complexion and the Serbian took full control.

Seems to have added power in his serve and if can maintain the same level of play for the comming months , could well see a turnaround and crown himself # 1 Indian over Ram & Prajnesh.

So depressing to see near empty stadium that too with a home player on court, nowhere in the world one can see such a embarrassing sight at a ATP 250 and tickets are also priced ridiculously cheap at Rs150, 500

It just means the prices are still high. They should keep reducing until to a point where it draws people in large numbers. Days of making money on tickets are over. It's all through ads.

[sameerph]

Good that at least the Indian players are not getting outplayed here against much higher ranked opponents. Both Prajnesh in Q1 and Sumit today could have easily pulled out wins with some luck.

Also Manas putting up a good show. Highlights of Manas's match are on twitter handle -



Some really good points by Manas.