Ramkumar Ramanathan

Ramkumar Ramanathan is a professional tennis player from India whose big game has inspired big expectations from his countrymen.

Ramanathan has registered a few upset wins in his career, and has come close to a top 100 ranking in singles. While consistency remains a big issue for him, he is considered to be a big threat for any player when he's on his game - especially on grass and other quick courts.

Best finish at each of the four Grand Slams:

Australian Open: Qualifying 3rd Round (2018)

French Open: Qualifying 2nd Round (2015)

Wimbledon: Qualifying 2nd Round (2016)

US Open: Qualifying 2nd Round (2015, 2017)

Highest Ranking: No. 111

Style of play

Ramanathan's game is centered around his serve. With big strikes on both the first and second delivery, he tries to take the attack to the opposition with just one swing of the racquet.

Ramanathan hits relatively flat groundstrokes, but is capable of generating plenty of topspin on his forehand when hitting crosscourt. He uses the backhand slice very often, forcing his opponents to bend low and dig out the ball.

Ramanathan always shows an eagerness to move forward and hit volleys, especially behind his forehand.

Strengths and weaknesses

Ramanathan has a very powerful serve, whose effectiveness is best seen on grass courts. He can take control of points very quickly with his serve, and often uses it set up easy forehands or volleys.

The Indian's forehand can also be very dangerous on its day. Capable of hitting it both flat and with topspin, Ramanathan takes big cuts on the forehand to generate a significant amount of pace. He occasionally coughs up a few unforced errors off that wing, but it remains a big weapon for him.

Ramanathan's backhand is at best a rally shot, and he often tries to hide it by running around and hitting a forehand. He can hit a biting slice that is effective on low-bouncing courts, but his stock backhand is a glaring weakness.

Ramanathan is not as agile at the back of the court as some of his peers, and struggles to defend against bigger hitters. His shot selection can also sometimes be a liability, as he goes for big shots from difficult positions - consequently leading to errors.

Personal life

Ramanathan was born in Chennai, and continues to spend a significant amount of his time there. He picked up tennis at the age of five, after his father Ramanathan introduced him to the sport.

His mother's name is Alagammai, who like his father is involved in the textile business. He has a sister named Uma.

Ramanathan's idols while growing up were Roger Federer and Spain's Juan Balcells. Incidentally, Ramanathan has undergone a good deal of his training in Spain, at the Sanchez-Casal Academy.

The Indian is fond of football and cricket too in addition to tennis. He has gone on record saying that he if not a tennis player, he would have been a professional cricketer. In football, he is a big supporter of Spanish club Barcelona.

Ramanathan has achieved sporadic success on the ATP tour in the last two years. In 2017 he defeated top 10 player Dominic Thiem in Antalya, before bowing out in the quarterfinals. A year later he lost to Steve Johnson in the Newport final, becoming the first Indian since Somdev Devvarman in 2011 to reach an ATP final.

Ramanathan is still very young, and many expect that his big game will earn him more upset wins in the future.

Social media presence:

Ramkumar Ramanathan Twitter: @ramkumar1994