Ramkumar Ramanathan made the most of his entry into the main draw of the ATP Cincinnati Masters tournament, with an opening round win over US qualifier Chris Eubanks. He prevailed 6-7, 6-1, 6-4 in a tough three-setter, playing on the Centre Court. In a gruelling match that lasted almost two hours, he came from a set down to fight back in an emphatic manner and win on his Masters debut.
Ranked 180 in the world, the Indian made it to the main draw as a lucky loser after France’s 21st-ranked Gael Monfils withdrew from the tournament on Monday due to illness. This was to be Ramanathan’s fist appearance in Masters 1000 tournament. The 22-year-old had earlier lost in the final round of qualifying to German Maximilian Marterer.
Monfils was coming off a third-round exit at Montreal after defeating Japan’s ninth-ranked Kei Nishikori in the second round last week. A week earlier, the 30-year-old was ousted in the first round defending his most recent of six career ATP titles at Washington, falling to Indian qualifier Yuki Bhambri.
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