Ramkumar Ramanathan Aiming to Play Lighter Schedule in 2019
Tennis - India's Ramkumar Ramanathan says he is working on his upper body in order to add more power to his serve and will aim to play a lighter schedule in 2019 after playing 35 events in 2018. The 24-year-old tennis player was speaking in Chennai at an event organized by Tamil Nadu Tennis Association to honour past and present champions: "I have been working a lot on my upper body to open up my shoulders so that I can get more power on serve and also on my legs to stay longer in the point. It will be of great help when you play on clay courts. I am going to pick and chose the tournaments and try to give my best whenever I play. I have no regrets about 2018. I am still ranked 130 and there is a long way to go. And you never know with a match or two, you can go into the top 100 or out of it. All I can say is you can expect a very good effort from me the next year and hopefully, I am healthy and play throughout the year,"
Speaking about the upcoming Davis Cup tie between India and Italy in February, Ramanathan says the grass courts in Kolkata will help the Indian side in the tie which will decide which of the two teams will qualify for the 18-nation Davis Cup Finals at the end of the season. "We have a great team. It is going to be fast and low-bouncing. So we have a chance. There will be a lot of support for us. Even against Serbia, it was a very close tie. It was a really close match. I started off well and lost the second set, a difference of few points and then it fell apart for us. But if we are all fit and play our best we can definitely upset Italy and make the breakthrough."
Ramanathan also had good things to speak about Mahesh Bhupathi, India's Davis Cup captain. "Mahesh, he is quiet. He expects us to play well like any other captain. We always go ahead of time whenever he is at the tie. He always asks all the players on what surface to play and all these things. He is trying to give his best and is doing it with all his heart and out of good intentions. There is no politics and that is the first thing we as players expect. He is doing a very good job."
Ramanathan starts his 2019 season at the Tata Open in Pune where he has been awarded a wildcard for the event alongside Prajnesh Gunneswaran.
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from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2Q4b8tL
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