The 20-year-old, who has been levelled as the face to watch out for, showed nerves of steel to snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat en route to the last 16 stage with a 4-6 6-3 6-4 win over Devvarman, who won Delhi Open two days ago.
It was in the same round and by the identical margin, that the youngster had stunned Devvarman in the last year's Chennai Open to lead 2-1 head to head.
On his shocking loss, Devvarman said: "I came here late Sunday night, there's little time to rest. But no excuses. After all, I was 4-1 up. There's no point over thinking these games. At no point did I think the game was slipping away. Usually I'm quite good at closing out such games but it didn't happen. He's a good player."
Earlier on the same court, Delhi Open runner-up Yuki Bhambri got some medical attention before storming past an error-prone Enrique Lopez-Perez of Spain 6-2 6-2.
Taipei's Ti Chen produced another upset of the day when he ousted Luke Saville of Australia 6-3 3-6 6-2.
In the battle tipped to be between the 'present' and the 'future' of Indian tennis, Devvarman who won USD 100,000 Delhi Open on Sunday, cruised to the first set lead breaking the youngster in the ninth game.
But Ramkumar kept shouting and screaming for every point that he won and was not there to give up easily.
Devvarman was leading 3-0 after breaking Ramkumar in the second game and was 4-1 up when the Tamil Nadu youngster went on to win five games in a row to settle the issue in two hour and 19 minutes.
You’ve reached your limit of {{free_limit}} free articles this month.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
Already subscribed? Log in
Subscribe to read the full story →
Smart Quarterly
₹900
3 Months
₹300/Month
Smart Essential
₹2,700
1 Year
₹225/Month
Super Saver
₹3,900
2 Years
₹162/Month
Renews automatically, cancel anytime
Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans
Exclusive premium stories online
Over 30 premium stories daily, handpicked by our editors


Complimentary Access to The New York Times
News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic
Business Standard Epaper
Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share


Curated Newsletters
Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox
Market Analysis & Investment Insights
In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor


Archives
Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997
Ad-free Reading
Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements


Seamless Access Across All Devices
Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app
