Ramkumar Ramanathan moved into the second round of the men’s singles qualifiers at the US Open on Wednesday with a win over Paul-Henri Mathieu. Ramanathan, the world No 156, beat the Frenchman in straight sets 6-4, 6-4 in 68 minutes.
Ramanathan served well throughout the match. He won 81% and 74% points on his first and second serves respectively. Mathieu, meanwhile, won a reasonable 78% points off his first serves but struggled to get his second serves right, converting merely 30% points off them.
Ramanathan also hit 16 winners to Mathieu’s two and had no unforced errors to his opponent’s six. He went on wrap up the match with a total of 67 points to Mathieu’s 49.
In the second round of qualifiers, Ramanathan will play the 14th seed Nicolas Mahut on Thursday. The French player, ranked 113th in the world, defeated South Korea’s Soon Woo Kwon in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4.