Ramkumar Ramanathan wins Kalaburagi Open, clinches second consecutive ITF title

Ramkumar pocketed the winner’s cheque of US$ 3,200 and 25 ATP points afte winning the one-sided summit clash that lasted just 64 minutes.

Ramkumar Ramanathan (left) and David Pichler (right). | Photo Credit: Deepthi Indukuri/KSLTA

Ramkumar Ramanathan of India clinched his third ITF title in a span of 57 days after beating Austrian David Pichler 6-2, 6-1 in the final of the Kalaburagi Open at the Chandrashekhar Patil Stadium here on Sunday.

Ramkumar pocketed the winner’s cheque of US$ 3,200 and 25 ATP points afte winning the one-sided summit clash that lasted just 64 minutes.

“It feels great to win back-to-back titles. My game is coming along good. I did play some of my best tennis in these last two weeks. The courts here didn’t suit my game initially, but I adapted to them very quickly,” said Ramkumar after the victory.

After both the players held their serve for the first five games, Ramkumar made the first dent by breaking David’s serve in the sixth game and never looked back, dishing out some superb winners to capture the rest of the games and win the set 6-2.

Pichler showed the promise of a fightback in the second set when he held his serve losing just a point. However, Ramkumar forced his opponent to commit mistakes and himself came up with a couple of cross-court winners.

The only game Ramkumar struggled to hold his serve was the fifth, where the Indian Davis Cup team member didn’t find answers to Pichler’s down-the-line winners. With two breaks in the fourth and sixth game, Ramkumar signed off with an ace to win the title.