Chennai Open: Ramkumar Ramanathan Goes Down Fighting Against Aljaz Bedene in Last Eight

A marauding Ramkumar Ramanathan dished out yet another commendable performance, albeit in a losing cause as he exited from Chennai Open after an intensly-fought singles quarterfinal against world number 45 Aljaz Bedene, here on Friday. (Ramkumar Ramanathan Rallies Into Chennai Open Quarterfinals)

The gritty Indian youngster gave a terrific fight to a top-50 player and saved four match points before losing 7-6(5) 4-6 3-6, battling hard for two hours and 13 minutes against Britain's number two player.

Ramanathan can hold his head high by putting up a splendid show, courtesy which he has earned crucial 45 ranking points. He beat a top-100 player and a top-200 before braving the challenge of a top-50 player.

From 248, he can even break into top-200 for the first time in his career. Ramkumar's performance is a good news for Indian tennis, which is known to produce quality singles players with monotonic regularity like some of the top nations.

Contending Britain's No 2 player was a task for the Indian, ranked more than 200 places below his fancied opponent. Ramkumar, though, played fearlessly. He struck powerfully, served well and refused to be intimidated by his rival, who was a runner-up here last year.