Rajkumar Loses Match But Wins Hearts

Till just before the 5 pm start to the India-Spain Davis Cup World Group Playoff tie in New Delhi on Friday, spectators walking into the RK Khanna Stadium were excitedly hoping to watch Rafael Nadal in action – all in flesh and blood.

At the same time, they, in their heart of hearts, must also be thinking that 14-time Grand Slam champion Nadal would steamroll world No.203 Ramkumar Ramanathan in no time.

But there was drama in store even as the spectators took their seats. Soon news broke out that Nadal had pulled out with a stomach bug and that meant Ramkumar would instead play Feliciano Lopez, current French Open champion and a doubles specialist.

Once the match started, perhaps not many people missed Nadal. It turned out to be a spectacle. No, not because Lopez crushed Ramkumar spectacularly, but because of the fight that 21-year-old Ramkumar put up against the world No.26. It was a stunningly gutsy display against a far superior player and that pleasantly surprised many people. Ramkumar went down 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 1-6, but not before giving his heart out and winning many hearts in the bargain.

The six-foot-two-inch tall Ramkumar loves playing poker, but on Friday evening he displayed top class tennis that was exhilarating, intense and never-say-die in spirit. One of the best aspects of his game is his speedy, low shots that almost kiss the net as they pass just millimetres over it. Many times he plays them with his double-handed backhand. On Friday, he played them several times.

Each of Ramkumar’s shots was accompanied by loud grunts, a la Monica Seles – an indication that he was giving it his all. For that matter, David Ferrer also grunts with every shot he plays.

The Chennai-born, Barcelona-based Ramkumar looked highly determined, perhaps more so after he learned that he wouldn’t have to face Nadal. He had the support of the crowd and he even indulged with them every time he would win a point with a brilliant shot. He would gesture to the spectators to be louder and they would happily oblige him during the entire match that lasted two hours and 25 minutes.

India is lucky to have Ramkumar playing tennis, for he would have become a cricketer otherwise. Friday’s game would surely give him a world of confidence and it could be a big turning point in his career during which his best ranking has been 196.

It is quite possible that Ramkumar, who trains at Sanchez-Casal Academy in Barcelona and speaks Spanish besides Tamil and English, would have learnt about Nadal’s pull-out only after entering the stadium, which was bubbling with expectation of watching Nadal in action.

It was a signal of the popularity that Nadal enjoys even away from home, in India. This was further proved after the Spanish team walked inside the stadium at around 5 pm. By that time the word had spread that Nadal wouldn’t be playing. Disappointed, a section of the stadium started shouting “we want Rafa, we want Rafa”. And, lo and behold, soon the hesitant ones in the rest of the stadium joined the chorus and the fever spread.

Nadal, sitting beside the court with his teammates, doffed his cap and a thunderous applause followed. It should be mentioned that the majority of the crowd comprised of youngsters who, obviously, were his fans.

In the second match of the evening, 119th ranked Saketh Myneni looked completely off-colour and a bit casual against world No.13 David Ferrer.

On Saturday, the doubles match will be played, followed by the reverse singles on Sunday.

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Kendriya Vidyalaya’s ball boys/girls

For some lucky Kendriya Vidayalaya students, who served as ball boys/girls during Friday’s matches, it was a lifetime opportunity for them to watch some of the biggest players in action from such close quarters.

A few of them were extremely active while some looked lost. At times, the chair umpire had to prompt them to release the balls.

Who knows, this Davis Cup tie could inspire a couple of them and they might go on to represent India one day.