Saketh tames Ramkumar to make the Indore Open final

Indian youngster Saketh Myneni reached his maiden ATP Challenger level singles final after dispatching a surprisingly subdued Ramkumar Ramanathan in straight sets in the Indore Open, here today.
26-year-old Saketh, ranked as low as 451, tamed the fast-rising Ramukumar 6-2 6-1 in the semifinals in just 57 minutes.
Ramkumar, who beat Ti Chen in an energy-sapping quarterfinal yesterday and also dumped India number two Yuki Bhambri, could hardly pose a challenge to big-serving Saketh today.
Saketh broke Ramkumar twice in each set while his young compatriot had three break chances in the opening set but could convert none.
"It was a bad day. I could not play the points well today. I tried hard but could not put pressure on Saketh. I was missing my forehands and little bit of serve," Ramkumar said.

Asked if he was tired having played intense matches en route to semifinals, Ramkumar replied in a negative.

"No, I would not say that. It was just not my day. At the same time, Saketh played really well."
Ramkumar's coach T Chandrasekhar hailed his ward's performance this week.
"It has been an excellent week for Ramkumar. Probably there was mental fatigue today since he played some really tough matches before. It happens with everyone in growing years. He's learning and has a long way to go," Chandrasekhar said.
For Saketh it will be his first singles final in a Challenger tournament. He is up against top seed Aleksandr Nedovysov, who tamed Stefano Travaglia 6-3 6-3 in the other semifinal.

Saketh has won two doubles Challenger-level titles this season with compatriot Sanam Singh. He had reached quarterfinals at the Karshi and in Chennai Challengers earlier this season.
Meanwhile, the Indian pair of Yuki Bhambri and Divij Sharan ended runners-up in the doubles event after being outplayed in the Match tie-breaker by Nedovysov and Adrian Menendez-Maceiras.
The Indian team lost 6-2 4-6 3-10 in one hour and 22 minutes in the title match.