Saketh: There was no question of giving up

Saketh Myneni and Ramkumar Ramanathan have been shaping up nicely in the professional circuit in recent times, but Friday's Davis Cup tie provided a glimpse of their strength of character.

Saketh Myneni battled cramps to overcome his opponent in five sets.

The grit and determination of Saketh Myneni, who was constantly supported by the captain and the teammates, provided a memorable experience of watching Davis Cup in energy-sapping conditions.

"There was never a question of giving up," said Saketh after winning the first five-set match of his career. He nearly had 15 litres of fluids during the match to stay on his feet.

"I am pretty happy to have won, even though I wanted to finish it in three sets," he said after taking India to a 2-0 lead against the Koreans, in the Davis Cup tie at the picturesque Chandigarh Club.

"I could not sit, and continued to stand and kept moving."

He praised Ramkumar Ramanathan for winning the first match in slow and more difficult conditions earlier in the day.

I ndia's captain Anand Amritraj also praised Ramkumar's fitness, even though he admitted that he was a "bit dodgy" in the fourth set of his match against Seong Chan Hong.

"The captain and all the players were supporting me. That is the beauty of playing Davis Cup. The team pushed Saketh to play his best despite the struggle," said Ramkumar.

"I could not watch the fourth set. But, once Saketh got the break in the first game of the fifth set, and held serve, to go up quickly to 5-1 in about 10 minutes, I was very happy for him."

Ramkumar, on his Davis Cup debut, thanked his former coach T. Chandrasekaran and Balasubramanian Aadithyan, a well-wisher.

Both Saketh and Ramkumar have been shaping up nicely in the professional circuit in recent times, but this Davis Cup tie provided a glimpse of their strength of character.