Ramkumar qualifies for Chennai Open, faces Somdev in 1st round

Living up to the hopes of local fans, young Ramkumar Ramanathan stormed into singles main draw of the Aircel Chennai Open after a hard-fought win over higher-ranked Slovakian Norbert Gombos in the final round of the qualifiers, here today.
Ramkumar, ranked 526, ousted Gombos, who is ranked 197, 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-3 after two hours and six minutes battle.
However, he has been pitted against India's best singles player Somdev Devvarman in his first round match.
In a brief chat with newspersons after making the main draw, Ramkumar said, "It was a tough match from the beginning against the Norbert. But I was in control. It was just a couple of points that mattered."

Expressing happiness about qualifying for a big international event like Chennai Open, Ramkumar said " I will do my best for my country."
He said he would also be playing in the ITF Futures tournaments to be held in Chennai and a few other Indian cities, in February 2013.
Talking about his first round match, the Indian said, "I will stick to my strengths and try to win each point and I am not worried about my rival".