India No 1 Ramkumar Ramanathan bowed out of the second round of the US Open qualifiers on Thursday with a 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-2 loss to France’s Nicolas Mahut in two hours and 26 minutes at Flushing Meadows. With Ramanathan’s exit, India’s participation at the US Open will now only be in the doubles circuit.
Ramanathan struggled with his second serves throughout the opening set and won only 39% points off his second serves as compared to Mahut’s relatively better 64%. He also failed to convert any of the three break points that came his way in the set, alongside failing to save both break points on his serve.
The second set featured no break points on either player’s serve. Likewise, Ramanathan also improved his second serve winning percentage to 54%, which allowed him to send the match into the deciding third set.
The 22-year-old’s second serve once again unravelled in the final set. Ramanathan managed to convert only 42% points off his second serves, and yet again failed to capitalise on the three break points that came his way. While he was able to save two of the four break points on his serve, the latter two cost him the match.