Ramkumar fails to enter Wimbledon main draw

London: India’s Ramkumar Ramanathan saved four match points in a marathon five-setter against Marc Polmans but a Grand Slam main draw eluded him yet again as he lost the final qualifying round at the Wimbledon championships, here on Thursday.

Showing nerves of steel, Ramkumar saved one match point after another but eventually lost 3-6, 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-3, 9-11 to his Australian rival after battling his heart out in a three hour and 30-minute contest.

In the current generation of Indian men’s player, Ramkumar is the only



one who has not yet competed in a tennis major. It was his 21st attempt to qualify for a tennis major since 2015.

Reigning US Open champion Dominic Thiem pulled out of Wimbledon and two other tournaments because of an injured right wrist.

“I’m going to do everything the doctors say in order to recover as quickly as possible,” Thiem said. “They’ve informed me that I might be out for several weeks, but I will do my best to be back on court soon.”