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I know this is a bit premature. We have very strict rules regarding the starting of individual player threads -- with the minimum qualification being a Futures title. But I think this 16-year-old kid has done something just as creditable -- reached the SF of a Futures on CLAY ABROAD (that too, in Europe), which I think is worth just as much (in terms of tennis achievement) as winning a Futures title in India. That he has done it at age 16 is all the more remarkable. My apologies for asking for this exception for an exceptional achievement.

For an old fogie like me, the name itself deserves a thread all by itself, which to me, is synonymous with all things Indian Tennis! Go Ramanathan!

PKB, this was in Morocco, not exactly Europe, though close .. Yeah, a bit too early probably start a thread for him, but ok, let us hope he stays on track and justifies the thread and our excitement. I am sure he would be surprised that there are people here who are knowledgeable enough to give credit for something he did, which is noteworthy but would not be noticed by others.... Jay

I think we should encourage this kid. Unfortunately there is a huge shortage of junior players in India. If some one is showing some spark, we should pay attention to that.

Hopefully, Ramkumar will justify this thread in next few months & than the thread will be running & long in a few years time.

Ramkumar started in the qualies of second week of Morocco futures yesterday.

At $10K Morocco F2 futures,Rabat

[Q1] Ramkumar RAMANATHAN (IND,NR) d. Yannick MARTELL BEUZIT (ESP,NR) 61 64
[Q2] Ramkumar RAMANATHAN (IND,NR) d. (3) Francesc MONTANES-ROCA (ESP,1286) 76(5) 46 61

So, now he has played 8 matches in last 8 days winning 7 of them.

Next,

[Q3] Ramkumar RAMANATHAN (IND,NR) v. Khalil NAJI (MAR,NR)

Ramkumar qualified for the main draw with an easy win.

At $10K Morocco F2 futures,Rabat

[Q3] Ramkumar RAMANATHAN (IND,NR) d. Khalil NAJI (MAR,NR) 61 60

Next,

[R1] (Q) Ramkumar RAMANATHAN (IND,NR) v. (4) Carlos BOLUDA-PURKISS (ESP,561)

Again he does not get any luck with the draw. 2-3 years back, 18 year old Carols Boluda was being talked about as rising star in Spanish tennis being ranked no. 1 in the European under 14 & under 16 circuit for quite some time. It seems his progress has been slower than expected. Still , he has reached a few Semi finals & finals at futures level in last year. So, this will be tough test for Ramkumar & will show where he stands against the top European players of same age . ( or slightly older).

Yes, again cruel draw after qualifying with some good wins ... Go Ramkumar.

It's always good to get to play top-600 guys. The point for him is to play tougher guys more often, than to get a lot of points - which can all happen later. As he is not playing the junior circuit against top-30 type junior players, he needs to get as many top-600 or top-500 players in the pro circuit as possible for this to be worthwhile.... Of course, getting them in the second round after getting a first round point is always nicer, but not a big deal. Jay

Cruel draw but one has to live with it. He took his chances during the last Futures and he is fiddling with his luck again. His opponents will surely get depressed hell a lot if they loose to him. Loosing to a 16 year old

Anyway all the best!

Following his win at the Indian National Junior Championship, Ramanathan had the oppurtunity to train at Sánchez-Casal, founded by Emilio Sánchez Vicario and Sergio Casal. Former Spanish Davis Cup player Joan Balcells is his tutor his spain while he is under Mr.Tyagarajan Chandrasekaran in India. His Spain trip is being sponsored by people like Karthik. P.Chitambaram, Mr. M.A.Allagappan and the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association. I feel his sponsors deserve a big round of applause!

No upset this week ... 18 yrs old Carols Boluda-Purkiss proved too strong for Ramkumar.

At $10K Morocco F2, Rabat (clay)

[R1] (Q) Ramkumar RAMANATHAN (IND,UNR) l (4) Carlos BOLUDA-PURKISS (ESP,561) 46 16

It was always going to be difficult against one of Spain's top juniors on clay. Hopefully, he will learn something from these losses.

No probs. he will learn. he has a long way to go. i am sure he will do well. however, I feel he should continue to play junior circuit and try to qualify for grand slams.

I don't know why Indian kids cannot mix in the junior circuit and the pro circuit properly, like most good palyers do abroad. Somebody or other keep advising them to skip the juniors, which is clearly bad advice. Not sure if this is the case with Ramkumar, but I certainly hope he will play more of the junior circuit also. Jay

I wonder if this has to do with finances. The concentrated training that he received in Spain was fabulous. He should definitely play the junior circuit as well as the top 30-40 juniors would provide him with good development opportunities as well. Hopefully, the AITA continues to sponsor the top 4-8 juniors in playing a certain number of junior events.

Unfortunately, he had to miss the closed Asian championship as winning that tournament would have given him a lot of points towards allowing entry in the more competitive junior events (the Grade 1's and Grand Slams).