ITF World Tennis Tour: Ramkumar, Digvijay to clash in all-Indian final; Prajwal-Karteek win doubles crown
Oct 21, 2023
Dharwad (Karnataka)[India], October 21 : With all the four top seeds making it to the last four stage of the ITF Dharwad Men's World Tennis Tour, there was some high-quality tennis action.
In thrilling semifinal encounters of the USD 25,000 prize money event, fourth seed Ramkumar Ramanathan of India produced a remarkable comeback to defeat top seed Nick Chappell of the United States 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (2) while countrymate and third seed Digvijay Pratap Singh dropped a set but rallied to win against second seed Bobrov Bogdan 6-4, 6-7 (2), 6-4.
Meanwhile, the third-seeded pair of SD Prajwal Dev and Nitin Kumar Sinha took home the doubles honours. In an almost one-sided final, Prajwal and Nitin ended the dream run of the unseeded team of Sai Karteek Ganta and Manish Sureshkumar with a 6-4, 6-3 victory. The winners were richer by US $ 1500 while the runners-up pocketed USD 900.
The crowd at the Dharwad District Lawn Tennis Association was treated to a thrilling contest as the 28-year-old Ramkumar faced Chappell in the first semifinal. The first set saw top seed Nick Chappell assert his dominance after racing to a 4-1 lead with a break in the third game before wrapping up the set at 6-3. Chappell's powerful serves and relentless baseline play had the Indian Davis Cupper on the back foot. However, in the second set, Ramanathan fought back with vengeance accompanied by loud grunts and the support of the crowd. A break in the fourth game was enough for Ramkumar to grab the second set 6-3.
The most heart-pounding moments came in the third set when Ramkumar found himself down 2-5. However, summoning his inner strength and resilience, the silver medallist at the recent Asian Games mounted an extraordinary comeback and took the deciding set into a tie-breaker which he won easily 7-2. The moment his opponent's ball went wide, he turned to the crowd and acknowledged their support.
In the other semifinal, Digvijay after having wrapped up the first set 6-4 with a break in the very first game, was serving for the match at 5-4, 30-0 up. The final set saw a late fightback by Bogdan but the damage had already been done.
Results
Singles Semifinals
4-Ramkumar Ramanathan beat 1-Nick Chappell (USA) 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (2)
3-Digvijay Pratap Singh beat 2-Bogdan Bobrov 6-4, 6-7 (2), 6-4.
Doubles final
3-SD Prajwal Dev/Nitin Kumar Sinha beat Sai Karteek Reddy Ganta/Manish Sureshkumar 6-4, 6-3.
Sunday's fixtures: Singles final:
4-Ramkumar Ramanathan Vs. 3-Digvijay Pratap Singh.
