CHANDIGARH:Down by one set sixth seed Ramkumar Ramanathan of India bounced back strongly to oust seventh seed Jay Clarke of Great Britain 5-7 6-3 6-2 in the singles semi-final in the $ 52, 080 Bahrain Ministry of Interior Tennis Challenger in Manama (Bahrain).
For the title clash, Ramkumar, who hails from Chennai, will fight against Russian Evgeny Karlovskiy. Evgeny Karlovskiy posted a 3-6 7-6(6) 6-3 verdict against Yanki Erel of Turkey in the second semi-final..
Ramkumar got a jolt in the 11th game of the first set when he was broken by Jay to take a 6-5 lead. With Jay serving in the12th game, Ramkumar saved four set points before Jay Clarke managed to claim the set at 7-5.
Ramkumar displayed his lethal service as he fired as many as 18 aces while committing three double faults, Jay served four aces and did not commit any double faults. Ramkumar converted four of six breakpoints while his rival converted two out of three.
Ramkumar won 78 percent points (43/55) on his first serve and 48 percent points (11/23) on second serve. Jay won 64 percent points (35/55) on first serve and 63 percent (15/24) on second serve.
Ramkumar won 53 percent total points (83/157) and Jay 47 percent (74/157).