The unheralded Ramkumar, ranked 222 in the world, brushed aside the Austrian's challenge 6-3, 6-2 in only 59 minutes to make it to the last eight of the $439,000 prize-money tournament.
Not used to playing singles anymore, India's Rohan Bopanna found rhythm in nick of time to edge past Hong Chung before Yong-Kyu Lim prevented a Korean whitewash with a gritty win over Ramkumar Ramanathan in the Davis Cup Asia Oceania Group I tie, in Chandigarh, on Sunday.
Somdev Devvarman recovered from his shock Chennai Open defeat against little-known compatriot Ramkumar Ramanathan to edge past Belgium's Niel Desein in a tight opening round of the ATP Apia International qualifiers in Sydney on Saturday.
Former India coach Anil Kumble is in the running for the Coach of the Year award in the inaugural edition of the Indian Sports Honours, instituted by the RP-SG Group in association with the foundation of skipper Virat Kohli.
India's non-playing captain Anand Amritraj was upbeat ahead of the Asia Oceania Group I Davis Cup tie against New Zealand, to be played in Pune from February 3 to 5, but cautioned the Kiwis should not be taken lightly.
Australia eased ahead of Bosnia 2-0 as John Millman thumped Damir Dzumhur 6-3, 6-2 while Alex de Minaur overcame Mirza Basic 6-3, 7-6(0), before Millman revealed the team's larger goal under captain Lleyton Hewitt.
Zeeshan Ali, the captain and coach of the men's team, has no clue about Paes's arrival three days before the start of the competition on Sunday.
Somdev Devvarman joined compatriot Ramkumar Ramanathan in the singles main draw of the ATP Chennai Open with a come-from-behind victory over Briton James Ward in the final qualifying round in Chennai on Sunday.
India's top singles players, led by Somdev Devvarman, easily advanced to the second round of ATP Pune Challenger on Tuesday, but rising star Ramkumar Ramanathan made a shock first-round exit. Third seed Somdev proved too good for local wild card Arjun Kadhe, scoring a 6-1, 6-3 victory in 60 minutes. Seventh seed Yuki Bhambri disposed of the challenge of Chinese Taipei's Liang-Chi Huang 6-3, 6-0.
India tennis ace, Sania Mirza finds herself at No 6 as the new WTA doubles chart was released on Monday.
Ramkumar Ramanathan recorded the second-biggest win of his career by shocking world number 98 Daniel Gimeno-Traver in the opening round of the ATP Chennai Open but there was no end to Somdev Devvarman's struggle as he was knocked out of the singles event, in Chennai on Tuesday.
Bora Gojo and Marin Cilic gave Croatia a 2-0 lead over India, winning the opening singles, in their Davis Cup qualifier in Zagreb on Friday. Gojo, ranked 277th, put the hosts ahead with a come-from-behind 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory over world No. 132 Prajnesh Gunneswaran while world No. 37 Cilic was taken to two tie-breakers before prevailing over 182-ranked Ramkumar Ramanathan 7-6(8), 7-6(8).
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
India were on Tuesday pitted against European powerhouse Spain as their Davis Cup World Group play-off opponents for the home tie as the International Tennis Federation announced the draw in London.
Leander Paes makes a return to the country's Davis Cup team as India named a four-member squad for the World Group play-off tie at home against top seeds Czech Republic from September 18-20.
In a big setback to the Indian Davis Cup team, country's leading singles player Yuki Bhambri was, on Sunday, ruled out of the upcoming tie against Uzbekistan due to a knee injury.
Somdev Devvarman, India's No 1 singles player, was knocked out of the ATP Atlanta Open by American qualifier Jared Donaldson on Tuesday. The 30-year-old Davis Cupper, who also entered the main draw of the event through the qualifiers, lost 1-6, 6-3, 4-6.
Shifting of India's only ATP event from Chennai to Pune after 21 years has disappointed the Amritraj brothers.
Hyderabad Aces dealt a big blow to Bangalore Raptors' chances of advancing to the final of the Champions Tennis League after the visitors registered a 25-22 win in a thrilling group match in Bengaluru.
Riding on spirited wins from former women's world number one Martina Hingis and veteran Australian player Mark Philippoussis, Hyderabad Aces defeated Bangalore Raptors by 27-25 margin to start their Champions Tennis League (CTL) campaign on a winning note in Hyderabad late on Monday.
AITA on sticky wicket after shift in venue
Blown away by Spain's David Ferrer in the second singles, Shaketh Myneni said he will have to put the disappointing day behind him and try to get back the momentum for India when he pairs up with Leander Paes for the doubles on Saturday.
Rafael Nadal's decision to opt out of the Davis Cup World Group Play-off opening tie remained shrouded in mystery with Spain captain Conchita Martinez and player Feliciano Lopez coming up with two different versions.
Downs Uzbek Isamilov in four-set thriller
The Sports Ministry has chosen 152 athletes across disciplines for Rs. 50,000 allowance per month for their preparations for next year's Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
In Paes's absence, seasoned Rohan Bopanna and Saketh Myneni will do the doubles duty in the July 17-19 tie, to be held in Christchurch.
Roger Federer began his latest quest for a 100th ATP title with a battling 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 win over Philipp Kohlschreiber in the first round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Monday.
Tamil Nadu Tennis Association Vice President Karti Chidambaram says the top 5-6 players such as Yuki Bhambri, Ramkumar Ramanathan, Sumit Nagal, Dhakshineshwar Suresh and Nitin Sinha should be supported to travel with a common coach and trainer, play 26 tournaments, out of which at least 18 are abroad, train for 20 weeks and have six weeks of rest in a year.
Yuki, ranked 93, has told AITA that if he gets direct entry into the last Grand Slam of the season, he won't be available.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Saturday
As India gear up to host five-time champions Spain in a Davis Cup World Group Play-off tie, Saketh Myneni knows the enormity of the task at hand.
The All India Tennis Association says an unflattering perception is being created about it in the wake of Mahesh Bhupathi's removal as captain when it actually selected Rohit Rajpal because the ITF, till the last moment, had not given the impression that it would move the Davis Cup tie out of Islamabad.
'Rafa is okay, nothing serious. He did not have any stomach upset. He was playing in the US Open with the same wrist issue. It is getting better and better but still it is sometimes painful. We still have two days of competition. So he might play one of these days'
India's captain Anand Amritraj said it was "initiation by fire" for both Saketh Myneni and Ramkumar Ramanathan as they pulled off victories in the opening singles of the Asia/Oceania Group I Davis Cup tie against South Korea, under testing conditions, in Chandigarh on Friday.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Monday
The All India Tennis Association may be backing Leander Paes to the hilt in him making the squad for the Rio Olympics, but the veteran star will not be picked in the Davis Cup team despite showing late interest in competing in the Asia/Oceania Group I tie against Korea Republic next month.
The Indian selectors reposed faith in Leander Paes as the 40-year-old veteran was on Saturday included in the Asian Games squad along with established stars Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna.
Yuki Bhambri breezed past Italy's Marco Cecchinato in the opening round of the qualifiers in the Chennai Open on Saturday.
India's tennis legend Vijay Amritraj said that the country needs to develop quality singles players if it wants to be in the elite group in the world.
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